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U.S. OPEN

September 2, 2011

Donald Young

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

D. YOUNG/S. Wawrinka
7-6, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You're down two sets to one. What happened to Donald Young, whom we worried with from about 15 years and so on?
DONALD YOUNG: 15 years? (Laughter) that would mean I would be like a lot older than I am now.
I don't know. Two sets to one down, it was kind of disappointing because I was up an early break in the second. For him to come back and run away with it and then go up a break in the third it was -- at the time it didn't feel great, but I knew I was in a lot of his service games.
Like I was 0-4 in the second set. I just knew if I converted one or two, I could be back in the match.

Q. Where does all this confidence come from and what will you do to continue it?
DONALD YOUNG: I feel like, you know, I haven't won that many matches, but in D.C. and this year I've had the biggest wins in my career and I put together matches in a row. It was quite tough for me to put together two, three in a row.
That's a big thing. I could win one match and not another. When you put matching together in a row against players of this caliber, it gives you confidence and you feel like you belong. It definitely helped.

Q. How hard was it to hold serve to get into that fifth-set tiebreak?
DONALD YOUNG: Actually, it was easier to hold serve than it was to serve for the match, to be honest. He gave me a few mistakes. I hit a couple good shots, good forehands, and we were in the tiebreak.

Q. How much of the incredible crowd support energized you, especially in the fifth set?
DONALD YOUNG: They were everything. I was kind of tired like midway through the third, fourth set. They were chanting my name, which is great, kind of like baseball chants.
Yeah, you know, just reminded me and made me feel great that all these people really wanted me to win here. I don't know. It just pushed me through. I can't describe how great it was.

Q. This was your first five-set win of your career. In your view, was this more a mental breakthrough today or a physical breakthrough?
DONALD YOUNG: All of the above. It's great for me, you know, to play 4 hours and 20 minutes. I saw the clock at the end. Throughout the whole match I was looking at the clock, and like, Oh man, am I going to make it the whole time?
But that's what you put the work and the practice for. To actually have it come through, yeah, it's just great to win.

Q. When you were serving for the match, was it nerves?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, of course. You know, there was nothing else. It wasn't like I physically couldn't go. It was all nerves. I had never been in that position before.
I've served for matches and gotten broken, but not you know, in the fifth set with someone of Stan's caliber. Yeah, it was nerves. I know that chances like that aren't going to come through too often. I was just really happy to come through in the end.

Q. Was this the biggest win of your career?
DONALD YOUNG: You know, it's hard to say. It's at the US Open, the venue. Yeah, but I really feel like as a tournament-wise or win-wise, like beating Baghdatis in the quarters was pretty big for me, and Andy in Indian Wells. I mean, he's a top 5 player; he's been two in the world.
But, yeah, if you want to put everything together, I would say today is definitely my biggest win in my career.

Q. You have been criticized in the past for your fitness level. Is that a breakthrough you've made this year?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, like I say, you know, to do things you've never done before you have to do things you've never done before. In the off-season I did something different, and that was great.
Definitely to see it like come and know I could play that long in a match definitely makes you feel great.

Q. What sort of motivation did you have at the lowest points of your career that carried you until now, and what are you feel being those lows when you're at this high?
DONALD YOUNG: Hopefully I'm not as high as I'm going to get. I don't think I was getting any motivation when I was losing all the time.
You know, you have people around you that you feel and trust in what they say and they tell you you can do it. You go out there and keep practicing. This is my job at the end of the day. Most people don't just quit a job unless they have something else to do.
I could obviously go to school, which would be great. Not to knock that. But this is something I chose to do. They always told me it would be a waste to waste the talent you have and not do anything with it.

Q. What's your feeling now about having stuck with it?
DONALD YOUNG: It's great right now. Obviously after a match like that you feel great. Happy to be through to the next round.
The feeling is, I can describe it as it just feels great.

Q. After the match, Patrick McEnroe tweeted, Donald Young has become a man today. What are your thoughts about that?
DONALD YOUNG: Patrick said that? I mean, that's great. (Smiling.)
Yeah, I mean, to come through a match like that and not wilt like I have before, yeah, it's great. I thought I became a man, you know, when I turned 21. (Laughter.
On a serious note, that's great for someone of his status to say something like that and really feel that, it's great. I'm happy he feels that way.

Q. What is your relationship now with the USTA?
DONALD YOUNG: It's good. It's back to normal. If I need something, they're there. They give me tips on matches. It's back to normal, so it's the way it was.

Q. If you were in the room with the USTA having a tall one, what would you say?
DONALD YOUNG: I don't drink, by the way. (Laughter.
If I was, I would just say thanks for all the support they've given me over the years. I really appreciate it. Obviously what happened happened. At times you're just kind of out there.
Yeah, but I appreciate it. Hopefully we can continue to work together, because I know they have the resources that can help me in my career.

Q. What life lessons can you take at this point in your career? Are there some things that stick out for you as far as lessons?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, I mean, you know, don't take things for granted. I feel like when I was 18 and I got to 73 in the world, the youngest in the top 100, I was top 75, it all seemed kind of easy, not realizing how much work I put into it to get to where I actually was.
Life lessons? Just keep working hard. Don't give up if it's something you really want to do. Listen to the people you trust and you can always learn.

Q. You mentioned that tennis was a job, and at the end of the day you still have to go to work. Do you take as much joy on the court as when you were 15?
DONALD YOUNG: I do. You can ask anybody around me. If I'm away from tennis for more than two or three days, I'm picking up racquets, I'm swinging other people's racquets, I'm watching. They actually don't want me to go on court as much as I want to play.
Yeah, I love tennis. It's what I do for a living, but I love tennis. If I didn't love it I wouldn't be playing, but I definitely love playing.

Q. Do you think you would have been better off, looking back, if they hadn't really had all this fanfare about you, the next great American, all that pressure, that it might have been an easier road for you?
DONALD YOUNG: It's tough, you know. Hindsight is 20/20. But, you know, I was doing things that hadn't been done, so you get opportunities that normal people probably wouldn't have gotten at the time.
I was 15, 1 in the world. You know, like what the heck; give it a shot. I might have won a couple matches. Couple matches I did play where I had chances, but it didn't come off. Of course, it starts to build on you and doesn't get any better.
You know, some players haven't had to have the pressure on them all the time, but that's what comes with winning and doing things that haven't been done.

Q. Going into that tiebreaker, what was your mindset and approach?
DONALD YOUNG: Make him hit a lot of balls. I know he was kind of feeling it also. But to play my game, not go for too much, just be steady.

Q. Did the work with Pete earlier in the year, was that a nice, brief interlude, or did that have some lasting effect?
DONALD YOUNG: It wasn't like work. We practiced together a couple times. Played a game of 21. He beat me. He let me know that wasn't good. And he talked and called me a little princess and everything. (Laughing.)
As far as him, when he was driving off, he was like, I expect to hear some big things from you. That made me sit back like, Wow, Pete Sampras just said he expects me to do some big things. That gave me a lot of confidence and pushed me to work even harder.

Q. What do you think you've proven to yourself after some of those depths that you experienced?
DONALD YOUNG: That I can play 4 hours and 20 minutes. Other than that, I would like to think I'm a pretty tough person deep down. Just had to grow up a little bit.
Like I said earlier, I think everybody's light comes on at their own time. Hopefully mine is coming on now.

Q. Is this the start of growing up?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, it is, for sure. You know, when you're younger and your parents, or people period, tell you things, you're just, What? Let me do it. You do it and you see what happens is not great, but you learn.
And definitely you have to learn -- some people have to learn from experience. Some people can listen and do it; some people have to learn from experience. I was definitely one person that had to learn from experience.

Q. Are you going to watch Jack and Christina? What advice would you give them?
DONALD YOUNG: For sure I'm going to watch Jack and Christina. Love to see him play Andy. It's going to be great.
If I had to give them anything, honestly everybody is their own person, they handle it their own way. Just, you know, stay confident, believe in your group, just stay doing what you need to do. Don't give up if it's really what you want to do.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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