a good summary post after the nice futures level run DB is on the past few weeks, good for him
--------------------------
not sure what I'm supposed to "eat crow" about to respond to some of the other recent posts in this thread - i'm still feeling pretty good about my long-term stance that he has little chance of a future as a pro at the ATP level - but to be determined - i'll keep some crow on the back-burner
Given how big this thread has gotten, I feel as if I need to stop lurking and start sharing a DB story. Back in maybe like 2009 I played him in a men's open tournament. By that stage, I had spent around 8+ years in a 60 to 70 hour per week desk job, and was on the wrong side of 30. I had played college tennis for a top 40 program as a legit walk on, but nevertheless a walkon, and had won my share of real small weekend money tournaments in my 20s ($300 to $500). I only say this to give you guys some perspective on the level. I was playing about 1x per month at that stage, and had spent my 20s "playing myself into shape" in sporadic weekend men's open tournaments in the Northeast (Manhattan court time insanely expensive), where admittedly competition was very weak compared to where I played in Florida as a kid.
My friend and I decided to fly out to LA to play a men's open tournament-- maybe a money tournament, I really can't remember. I drew DB in either my first match or second match. He was 13 or 14 I think, though with each retelling of the story from my wife, he gets younger and younger. I think maybe he was 6 years old at this stage in the retelling......
We ended up splitting sets, and I lost in a super-10 like 10-7 or something----this was just when they were starting to get popular in men's tournaments. Anyway, I have obviously followed the kid's career since then, hoping one day to see him on Ashe and tell my friends I played him. At the time, I thought a few things:
1). He was legit. His strokes were clean off the ground, he was a lanky kid, and he certainly had a future in college, easily. His serve was odd---that's all I remember, but I remember thinking it needed some work. He was never going to be a low-level college recruit. Too good already at that age to be that lowly regarded and he had the frame to have real upside. As long as he stayed focused and healthy, he was easily going to be a blue chip recruit. 100%.
2). He was a nice kid. He hooked me on a big call on a running passing shot in the breaker, and I instinctively yelled "that's bull----" and he immediately said "You're right, I missed the call" as my sister and brother-in-law were rolling on the ground laughing at me trying to beat a 13 year-old kid. Now that I think about it, I am not even sure my wife was there....
3). His dad was a unique person, but respectful and not overbearing versus the other crazy parents I met in the tennis scene over the years. I think the Carson Challenger was that weekend, and I remember speaking to him during that, for like 30 minutes, which is about 29 minutes longer than most conversations I have, so maybe he was a bit pushy, but nothing absurd in my interaction. Sure, he elevated his kid and worked hard to sell him, but he was nowhere near most parents I have met over the years. He gave off the Christian vibe but that was all---nothing mean-spirited and he had quite the personal life story, too. I just sorta listened, and if I didn't follow his son's career, the entire content of the conversation would have faded from my memory.
4). I cheer for the guy. He recently lost a match to another player I know very well who I just played at a tournament this summer, and it sort of let me index DB progress. He is definitely not a pushover or an underacheiver based on what I saw of him at 14 versus where that result comes out now. The difference at the level he is trying to get to is so small, that to say he hasn't lived up to the hype or he is a failure, even if he never wins another ATP point, is unfair at this stage. Who knows at 15 whether a kid will be top 10, top 100 or top 350? The number of breaks you need in your favor coupled with the marginal difference at that stage, it's just too hard to predict.
5). If I were his parents I would have told him to spend 1 year at college, just because even if he is sucessful, he will be out of tennis by 35, so why not have that as a fallback no matter what? He definitely never has been a slam dunk, top 20 talent (who is, really?), so I would have pushed him to 1 year of school. But that's just me, and that's not specific to DB here.
Again, I have had zero interaction with the guy in 6 years, and have only followed at a distance as sort of a running family joke, but DB was legit back then, and I am happy to see his good results. I know this is a long post, but I thought I would share given the board controversy on this kid.
