Donald Young continues string of dramatic comebacks at the Open
— -- NEW YORK -- With all due respect to Varvara Lepchenko, Donald Young is the unlikeliest of the six Americans through to the second week and fourth round of the US Open.
And after his latest miracle Saturday, he might start getting more traction than the other guy people like to call "The Donald."
After dropping the first two sets against No. 22 seed Viktor Troicki, Young rallied furiously behind the support of a rowdy Grandstand crowd to win, 4-6, 0-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-4 -- his third consecutive dramatic comeback of the tournament.
Let's review:
In the first round, he spotted No. 11 seed Gilles Simon a two-set lead and was down a break, but fought back to win in five.
In his second match, Young dropped the opening frame versus Aljaz Bedene and won the final three.
In the third round? Troicki raced out to a two-set lead and, after Young was treated for a back ailment, was slowly, painfully reeled in by the 26-year-old Chicago native.
Young is now 5-2 in five-set matches; not bad for a player whose career has been widely viewed as a disappointment after winning the Wimbledon junior tournament at age 17. He has yet to win an ATP World Tour-level title.
Young, who has worked on being more committed to his overall fitness in recent years, said he has seen a difference.
"I've been slaving in the gym, killing it," Young said in his on-court interview after the match. "It was a weak point in my career. I'm not exactly where I want to be, but I'm moving in the right direction."
Could this year be a turning point for Young? Well, in his 11 years as a professional, he had never comeback from a 0-2 deficit until this week. The No. 68-ranked Young still looked fresh at the end of the three-and-a-half-hour match, but his next challenge will be even greater -- he'll face No. 5 seed Stan Wawrinka. Young beat Wawrinka in the second round of the 2011 US Open in a fifth-set tiebreaker, ironically the last and only other time the American has reached the second week here.
And with Canadian Eugenie Bouchard withdrawing from her doubles event earlier on Saturday, Young is now the only player still alive in three different events -- he's 3-0 in singles, 2-0 with partner Michael Russell in men's doubles and 1-0 in mixed doubles with Taylor Townsend. That 6-0 aggregate record is the best mark on any main draw.
After sending a forehand winner down the line to seal Saturday's win, Young fell to the court and sent the Grandstand crowd into hysterics. Young was so excited, he initially forgot to shake the hand of chair umpire Cedric Mourier.
It felt like a Davis Cup match.
"It definitely did," Young said. "I was on the other end of one of those against [Andy] Murray in Scotland.
"I was able to continue and fight, somehow. I don't know how it did it, but I'll take it."
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