2005 Pacific Life Open News
By Eleanor Preston |  March 11, 2005

He came, he saw and he got so soundly thrashed that he may not be back for some time. Donald Young made his debut in a Masters Series tournament on Friday and, amid much wailing and gnashing of teeth at the United States Tennis Association, was taken apart by experienced Frenchman Arnaud Clement, 6-3, 6-2 .
 
Being the youngest boy – at 15 - to be World No.1 in juniors and the youngest ever junior grand slam champion is one thing. Winning a match on the ATP Tour is quite another.
 
Young, who won the Australian Open junior title in January, has now played three ATP matches and lost all three of them while his failure to compete with the full-grown men on the big boys’ tour is hardly surprising, many observers have called into question the wisdom of putting him through the humiliation at such a young age.
 
There are few observers have a more educated stand-point than Andy Roddick, America’s last next big thing.
 
“I've seen him but I just think it's getting pushed a little fast,” said Roddick. “I'd love to see him take the time and really work on his game. I say that with the best possible intentions for him. I think he's insanely talented if you've seen him strike the ball and the way he naturally feels it. There's definitely something special there. But is he ready to play week in, week out on the main tour? I don't think so. I hope I'm proved wrong, but I just really sit back and watch and I just hope he can get through this hole and handle it OK.

“Maybe you start in quallies or in Challengers or maybe even Futures first. I'd love nothing more than for him to come in and just start ripping people apart but I don't know that's the case. I hope he knows that he should be of enjoying the experience and if that's the way they're looking at it. To go and try to build and see what you're up against so you know what you have to work on, then that's kind of a great attitude to take into it. But I'm not really sure how they are going about it.”
 
While Young looked a picture of misery as he watched his pure but still lightweight game get dismantled by a man who has been a pro’ for a decade, he said afterwards that he enjoyed the experience. He utterly failed to get to grips with Clement’s serve and was overpowered and out-hit at every turn. This may not be the case if and when he grows a few inches in height and gets stronger with age, but the concern is that his confidence may be so shot to pieces by then that he will have messed up the tricky transition from prodigy to bone fide player.
 
Richard Gasquet provides a cautionary tale for Young and his camp. At 15 the Frenchman was vaunted as the most talented player of his generation and after winning two junior grand slams inside a year he turned pro. That was three years ago and little has been seen from Gasquet since. He may yet make an impact on the ATP Tour but few people who have watched him play lately appear to think so.
 
But Young’s parents are sensible, educated people who, naturally, want only good things for their son and it’s possible that they know exactly what they are doing. A large bubble of expectation has ballooned up around their son that has inflated further since the Australian Open win and perhaps they felt it was in his best interests to take some of the air out of it. A couple of high profile losses might just be the best thing to happen to Young, for they may give him a little more time to grow, both physically and figuratively. He is, after all, only 15 and no player of that age should have expectation heaped upon him. He should instead be able to sit at home in Chicago, playing video games and dreaming of a glittering future.
 
His favorite game on his X Box console is a tennis game called Top Spin, in which you can tailor players and give them a range of attributes. Young has created a computerized version of himself and given himself the very best of everything.

”I make him like my height and my weight but he has unbelievable attributes, he's amazing,” said Young. “Everything is like maxed out. Great volleys, great serve - everything.
 
“Life would be a lot easier if you could do that in real life.”

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