|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND:GREAT BRITAIN v U.S.A.January 31, 2014Donald YoungSAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA A. MURRAY/D. Young THE MODERATOR: Questions for Donald. Q. Obviously a tough experience for you. What do you feel about the match? He got off to such a good start it was difficult for you. Kind of going uphill all the way, weren't you? DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, yeah. I mean, he played well. It was my first time. Everything seemed like it was in hyperspeed and going quite fast. But all in all, he hasn't won slams and been what he's been without playing well consistently. Obviously he handled the situation better. Been there a few more times, or a lot more times. So it was tough for me, but I'm happy I gut through it and fought hard all the way through the end I felt. Q. Just watching, it looks like it's a little difficult to change directions, but the ball kind of stand ups when you get there. So if you get there, you can give it a smack. DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, definitely. A little slippery, like Captain Courier said. It's a new clay court. With a new clay court it's a little slipperier than it would normally be. But, you know, those are the conditions. The court had been playing well, I had been practicing well all week, so that's what I have to deal with. Q. Donald, seemed like Jim was talking to you a lot during the changeovers and everything. Was he talking, just trying to, you know, calm you down? Strategy? What was going on? DONALD YOUNG: You know, it was a mixture of things. Obviously he was comforting me a little bit and strategy and seeing how the match was progressing and things to maybe change or try. We were trying a lot of different things. Yeah, just what a coach does on court with his charge to help him try and play better. Q. Donald, you've obviously had a career with lots of ups and downs, called on for certain things, passed over for other things. What does it finally feel like to go out there on court with the USA colors on your back representing the country in Davis Cup? DONALD YOUNG: It's an honor for me, something I've been dreaming about is as kid. I was watching the greats do it. Playing for your country, it's totally different. They don't say your name after the game, they say your country. So it means a lot to me to be picked and to put myself in a position to have a chance to be picked and part of the team. I'm just happy to be here. John couldn't go so I got to the call, and just happy to be able to play. Q. Pretty unusual setting, to say the least. Can you think in our your days playing tennis the most unusual setting you've ever played in in your career? DONALD YOUNG: This has to beat 'em all. Inside of a baseball stadium is great. We're in the Padres' locker room the is a locker room attendant. It's just awesome. Jut a public park would be the worst ‑‑ not the worst, but just different. Q. Do you know who Tony Quinn is? DONALD YOUNG: No, I don't. Who is that? Q. Great Padres star. DONALD YOUNG: No. I don't follow baseball that much. I know the big stars, but I'm not really, really interested it like some of the other guys. Q. After getting the first Davis Cup match out of the way, how confident are you you'll be ready for Sunday if it comes down to that? DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, I'll never have this feelings of the first time, so I'm excited. I'm looking forward to Sunday if need be. I'm definitely looking forward to playing, and I'll feel a lot better and more confident about going out there trying to get a win for the team. Q. Obviously you can watch James now. Have you come across him much before? DONALD YOUNG: No. I practiced with him maybe once and played against them in doubles, but that's the extent we've played. Q. You had two winners in the first set; you finished the match with 25. The result wasn't that much different in the second and third set. Do you feel like you played better, and what changed? DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, definitely. I had to start going for my shots a little more because just playing my regular game wasn't getting it done. Definitely had to try to like up the aggressiveness. That's what me and Captain Courier talked about, so that was what I tried to do. Wasn't as successful as I wanted it to be, but it was definitely an improvement from the first set. Q. When he's playing at his best, how tough is he to play against? DONALD YOUNG: Unbelievably tough. I've seen him do that to a lot of guys. I don't feel quite as bad. Yeah, it's just rough because he's getting everything back; it's coming back deep; you're on the constant move; you feel like have to do more than you want to do. You're just uncomfortable. That's the goal of every tennis player, to make you feel uncomfortable on the court. He did a great job of that today. Q. Talk a little bit about the Aussie Open, getting as far as you did, beating Seppi. Was that just another tournament for you, or do you think you can somewhat build on that? DONALD YOUNG: Definitely I want to build on that. To get on the third round of Australia is something I never had done before. Moved me up to the third‑highest‑ranked American, which is something big for me. Beating a quality guy like Seppi who is consistent, ‑‑ he's been a top 50 or top 30 player for a long time, and he doesn't just get there by not being consistent and a really good player. For me to beat him in five this those conditions gave me a lot of confidence. Looking forward to building on it. Q. Can you can go a little bit further on Andy. You said he made you feel comfortable [sic], running you around. Is he as tough as ‑‑ I'm sorry, I don't know whether ‑‑ I think you played Federer and the others‑‑ but can you compare him to the other top players? DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, it's definitely uncomfortable. I mean, I played him in a night match. It was kind of a similar situation given that there was a night match against Fed. I think he was 1 in the world at the time. But, yeah, they just make you ‑‑ I mean, Fed more plays his game and makes you feel uncomfortable and hits his shots and hits winners. This was more me not really sure what to do. Had to keep changing tactics and he was forcing you to do something else or it would have been a lot quicker than it even was. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|