Observations on Young! Spoiler

[Mr Topspin]

I watched Young for the first time since last year and i must say i was impressed. He sems to have developed a very good serve and can get it upto the 130 mphs and can hit the spots. His forehand is also underated and he was able to hit 45 winners and most of them were coming from the forehand.

He has a decent return game and can actually construct a point and play with some strategy, which is surprising coming from an American player in this modern age of baseline bashing.

I still think he has a way to go but he looks promising, more promising than i initially thought. In comparison to his fellow American players like Isner and Querrey I see Young doing better as he has clearly got more options and enormous potential. The others are just clones of Roddick and we have seen how far that can take you. I don't see Sam and John getting much better than they are playing already as they both play a very high risk attacking game and both can't return serve to save their lives. Well done Young!

 

[Alex132]

yeah, young can serve very well

He plays quite a bit like roddick, cranks up every shot and moves quite well around the court too.

 

[JRstriker12]

I'd say that DY moves better than Roddick. DY can also crank the forehand, but is much better at the net and his backhand is better. That match was a battle. DY had his chances, but his forehand got loose at the wrong times. Thought he should have pressured Lopez's backhand more.

Young does look good and I agree he seems to have more potential than Isner and possibly Querry.

 

[Chauvalito]

A little more match experience, and I'm sure he would have gotten another set, or might have won the match.

F-Lo is a tough match given his serve, forehand and volleying (horrible backhand as you all know)...but in a few years DY is probably not going to have any problems beating him.

 

[Mr Topspin]

I'd say that DY moves better than Roddick. DY can also crank the forehand, but is much better at the net and his backhand is better. That match was a battle. DY had his chances, but his forehand got loose at the wrong times. Thought he should have pressured Lopez's backhand more.

Young does look good and I agree he seems to have more potential than Isner and possibly Querry.

I can't see Isner getting any better. Once Federer got his serve back he was toast. Isner also has an extremely poor return game. Federer was winning tons of love game or 40-15 games. Although it was Federer, he was playing Isner could not return with any great regularity.

 

[the green god]

Gee, it can take you to number 1 and a yearly top five ranking.

 

[johnny ballgame]

I frankly can't understand how anyone wouldn't think he has promise. He won two junior slams and was the #1 junior in the world.

Success at the junior level is the single best predictor of success at the pro level.

 

[Fedexeon]

Yeah, i like watching Young. He looks promising to me. He attacks the net quite abit isnt it ?

 

[daddy]

I frankly can't understand how anyone wouldn't think he has promise. He won two junior slams and was the #1 junior in the world.

Success at the junior level is the single best predictor of success at the pro level.

Traansiotion needs to be very carefully done. Media all over him and all the hype and things, you will get another baghdatis. You need no baghdats you need future real contender to the likes of djokovic, murray, gasquet, monfils, nadal, del potro, ancic and many other young upcoming guys whi will be top 10 in next few years.

 

[plain jane]

i think he relies on crowd support. i would like to see him play against someone that the crowd is rooting for and see how he plays first.

 

[JRstriker12]

i think he relies on crowd support. i would like to see him play against someone that the crowd is rooting for and see how he plays first.

A smart player knows how to take advantage of a crowd, and heck is it the U.S. open.

I don't think he "relies" on the crowd. We've only seen him win in front of a home crowd so it's hard to make that generalization.

I doubt all his junior wins were only in front of a "home" crowd.

 

[Ambivalent]

Young needs to put on a bit more muscle and he could use an extra 6 inches too.

 

[JRstriker12]

Young needs to put on a bit more muscle and he could use an extra 6 inches too.

I think he could work on his endurance, but I don't know if he needs that much more muscle - he was clocking the ball pretty hard and he moves well - he hit some massive winner when he was pulled wide.

As for 6 inches, yeah, he could be a little taller, but he's got to work with what he has. who knows, he might put on an inch or two before he's 20.

 

[plain jane]

A smart player knows how to take advantage of a crowd, and heck is it the U.S. open.

I don't think he "relies" on the crowd. We've only seen him win in front of a home crowd so it's hard to make that generalization.

I doubt all his junior wins were only in front of a "home" crowd.

But that was my point. We've only seen him win in front of a home crowd so it is hard to tell if he really has that much going for him when the going gets tough. I dont think the crowds watching the juniors cheer the same as those on the pro tour.

 

[EricW]

I watched Young for the first time since last year and i must say i was impressed. He sems to have developed a very good serve and can get it upto the 130 mphs and can hit the spots. His forehand is also underated and he was able to hit 45 winners and most of them were coming from the forehand.

He has a decent return game and can actually construct a point and play with some strategy, which is surprising coming from an American player in this modern age of baseline bashing.

I still think he has a way to go but he looks promising, more promising than i initially thought. In comparison to his fellow American players like Isner and Querrey I see Young doing better as he has clearly got more options and enormous potential. The others are just clones of Roddick and we have seen how far that can take you. I don't see Sam and John getting much better than they are playing already as they both play a very high risk attacking game and both can't return serve to save their lives. Well done Young!

Are you being sarcastic? Because I'd play like Roddick if I could get a US Open title and be top 5 for years..

 

[mnballer15]

Hey..a question regarding DYoung. What will his ranking look like after the new rankings come out after the Open...how far will he move up?

 

[DoubleHanded&LovinIt]

Everything is there except for two things: experience and he needs to ditch the whole junior tennis/Sam Querrey style forehand. Extension Donald, extension! If you're going to move like Rafa and Roger, you might as well hit the forehand like them. His two-hander is IMPRESSIVE! Very much a mix between Rafa and Rios on that wing.

I don't get McEnroe's criticism about him running through his volleys? Then again, he's probably the best volleyer EVER and I don't have much of a net game...I think at the speed of today's game, you can't ever really stop or slow down. Especially when you're coming to net with the sick passing shots out there today. You need to be moving to cover any of the coming bullets.

 

[Ambivalent]

Hey..a question regarding DYoung. What will his ranking look like after the new rankings come out after the Open...how far will he move up?

Pretty damn far considering he was like 0-11 before and now he's...3-1X? (Does that Gasquet forfeit count as a win or no?)

 

[Tennis Fan]

DY is great. The talent he has is obvious. He just turned 18 & has 3 more yrs to get taller. Definitely a force to be reckoned with in the future!

 

[phoony]

What is height now ??? By the way bye bye DY.

 

[daddy]

Everything is there except for two things: experience and he needs to ditch the whole junior tennis/Sam Querrey style forehand. Extension Donald, extension! If you're going to move like Rafa and Roger, you might as well hit the forehand like them. His two-hander is IMPRESSIVE! Very much a mix between Rafa and Rios on that wing.

I don't get McEnroe's criticism about him running through his volleys? Then again, he's probably the best volleyer EVER and I don't have much of a net game...I think at the speed of today's game, you can't ever really stop or slow down. Especially when you're coming to net with the sick passing shots out there today. You need to be moving to cover any of the coming bullets.

Cmon, 18 years old arms against those arms of NADAL ? And federer is solid as you can get .. so Id say wait a few more years for extension, he got to practise it, then learn it then when the strenght comes he will have the technique to pull it out ...

 

[Tennis Fan]

What is height now ??? By the way bye bye DY.

Currently 5'9". He could really shoot up in 3 years.

 

[JRstriker12]

But that was my point. We've only seen him win in front of a home crowd so it is hard to tell if he really has that much going for him when the going gets tough. I dont think the crowds watching the juniors cheer the same as those on the pro tour.

See that's my point, in the junior level, he's won without a home crowd. If you don't think junior tennis can get crazy, you should check out some of the stories on this board, tennis magazines. etc.

It's really hard to make that generalization "that he depends on a home crowd" seeing as he's played less that 20 games on the ATP tour.

 

[Fearsome Forehand]

I caught his last few games. First time I had seen him play. I wasn't all that impressed. He moves well but other than the giants, they all move well. He has decent groundies but so does everyone else on the ATP Tour.

He completely choked away his last service game which doesn't bode well.
And he doesn''t seem to have any exceptional weapons (like Isner's serve) so he is someone who would have to work very hard to win matches and get into the top ten (not unlike Hewitt or Agassi). He is not going to get a lot of free points.

He has a long way to go to be in the top fifty let alone the top twenty. But he is only 18 so he has a few years to develop. To that end, he should hire a real coach.

He could be a good player or he could be a big flop. It is way too early to tell.

 

[grif]

"...
But something seemed to click in Young's game since Wimbledon, and I got beyond his personal history (Young became the cautionary tale de jour about a year ago, during his first forays forays onto the pro tour, where he was conspicuously over-matched). Yesterday, I tried to see him with fresh eyes, and they were impressed by how much weight and penetration his shots have gained. The kid hits a really nice, "live" ball, and he is one of those players who can really exploit his natural advantage as a lefty - something that remarkably few pros, starting with Rafael Nadal, really do. Young can serve with vicious slice or kick, and he uses his wrist - let's all observe a moment of silence, in honor of that other ultimate wristy southpaw, Rod Laver - to good effect.

Young won the first set, and he was cooking along on serve in the second until the sixth game. He was broken for 2-4, and he immediately lost his cool. Over the course of the next few points and games, he petulantly flung his racket to the ground, berated at himself, cranked and twisted his head this way and that in disbelief - in short, he indulged in all the affectations and mannerisms of a frustrated kid who simultaneously felt tortured and bored. I wanted to reach over the railing and shake him, saying, This Lopez guy is getting a big boost out of the little show you're putting on for him. Why don't you just turn your back, squat, and invite Feli to kick your butt for real, too.
..."

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