2015 Review: American Teenagers (ATP)

This is a follow up to the 10 American Teenagers to Watch in 2015 (ATP).  So how did they do?  Continue reading to find out.
   

Jared Donaldson © LangTennis

Jared Donaldson 

Age: 19 (09 Oct 1996)
Height: 6-3

Plays: Right Handed (Double Handed Backhand)

2015 Year End ATP Ranking: 135

2014 Year End ATP Ranking: 260

Career High ATP Ranking: 133 (11/02/15)

2015 Highlights: The year of firsts for the lanky Rhode Island teenager.  Donaldson continued his momentum from 2014 and rose 125 spots to finish inside the ATP 150 for the first time.  He captured his first challenger title at the $50K Maui, won his first ATP tour level match at the Memphis Open, won his first masters match in Cincinnati and beating American veteran Tim Smyczek for the first time after losing three straight matches the year before.  Jared went 4-7 at the ATP tour level and 29-15 at the challenger level in 2015.

ATP Winston-Salem: Monday Pictures

This is the 4th installment of the ATP Winston-Salem Open coverage.  For previous posts, click here.

I didn't get to watch much on Monday because of the rain delays so I'm going to keep this post short and just post pictures.

Donald Young and his practice partner on PC1.

Donald Young

Donald Young's hitting partner

Spotted Sekou Bangoura, still can't figure out what's sticking out of his hair.

Winston-Salem Open Sunday Recap: Jared Donaldson vs Sam Groth

The 2015 Winston-Salem Open first round match between 18 year old American wildcard, Jared Donaldson, and World No.54 Sam Groth of Australia was a roller coaster ride.  The encounter lasted almost three hours with the big serving Aussie triumphing in three tiebreaks.

Evening match on Stadium Court

Some of my readers are aware that I have been following Donaldson's career for a long time since he was a 16 year old playing juniors in South America.  I have watched him countless times on the streams, but this was my first time witnessing his match in person.  Even though it was not the outcome I had hoped for, it was an entertaining battle filled with some great shot-making and theatrical moments.

ATP Winston-Salem Open Qualies - Saturday Part I

It has been a while since my last post, slacking I know.  Yesterday, I made my annual trip to the ATP 250 event in Winston-Salem.  If you recall, it is at the same facility as the Winston-Salem futures held earlier this summer.  But unlike the lower tournament, this event is much better organized, has bigger crowd and higher profile players. World No.11 and WC recipient, Gilles Simon of France is the top seed and 18 year old Croatian Borna Coric rounds out the Top 8 with an ATP ranking of 38.  The other three wildcards went to former World No.2 Tommy Haas of Germany, 2nd seed Kevin Anderson (RSA), and 18 year old American Jared Donaldson.  For full draw.

Map of the tournament

Qualifying Saturday is the best day of the tournament in my opinion.  Both Qualifying Round 1 and 2 are played on the same day so spectators get their money's worth.  However, because there are so many matches going on at the same time, five to be exact, it is tough to watch everything.  So I made a list of what I wanted to see beforehand.

May Rankings, March & April In Review

Previous Rankings: None (Skipped April, was busy).

ATP - Top 15 Americans

Notable Changes/Results

• John Isner is back inside the Top 20 with a much needed semifinal run at the Miami Masters and R16 in Monte Carlo.
• Congrats to your new American No.2, Jack Sock, on his maiden ATP in Houston.
• Also in April, Rajeev Ram won the $100K Guadalajara Challenger (defeated 1st time finalist and University of Michigan alumni Jason Jung) to become the MVP in Racket Rally during that title clinching week...thanks Raj for the court coins.
• Prior to the breakthrough in Mexico, Jung won the $15K Little Rock futures the previous week and is currently at a career high of ATP 194.
• Bjorn Fratangelo continued his good form, reaching SF and QF of Savannah and Tallahassee challengers respectively.
• Jared Donaldson also had a good start to the clay season, reaching QF of Sarasota and Savannah, as well as reaching the SF of Tallahassee.
• Congrats to former Cal Poly Mustang, Andre Dome, on his maiden title at the Thailand F2.
• Dennis Novikov broke into the top 200 for the first time after winning his 6th futures title in Calabasas, CA.

Q&A with Jared Donaldson

18 year old Jared Donaldson claimed his maiden challenger titles two weeks ago in Maui, sweeping the Singles and Doubles (partnering fellow teen Stefan Kozlov).  And earlier this week, the American won his first career ATP match in Memphis (defeated Kozlov) before falling to compatriot and former Top 20 player, Sam Querrey.  The Rhode Island native was kind enough to give up his time to do a Question&Answer for us.  Continue reading to see what JD had to say about his game, memorable experiences, career approach and more!

February Rankings: Serena Claimed 19th Slam Title, New Career High For Keys and Donaldson

 ATP - Top 15 Americans

Notable Changes

•  Steve Johnson takes over the No. 2 spot from Sam Querrey.
• Jared Donaldson makes his debut on the Top 15 List at No. 15 with the aid of his maiden challenger title at the $50K Maui over fellow first-time American finalist Nicolas Meister (former UCLA Bruin).
• Ryan Harrison is back on the list at No. 11 with the Happy Valley Challenger title run.
• Alex Kuznetsov and Jarmere Jenkins are bumped off the list despite minimal changes from the January ATP rankings.

Jared Donaldson Wins First Challenger Title, Youngest American Winner Since Donald Young

Jared Donaldson, one of the Just Drop The Ball's 10 American teenagers to watch in 2015, wins his first career challenger title in Maui today to become the youngest American titlist since Donald Young in 2007 (Aptos).  At 18 years, 3 months, and 23 days old, the teenager is the 55th youngest challenger champion.  American Michael Chang holds the record at 15 years and 7 months when he captured the Las Vegas crown in 1987, roughly 9 years before Donaldson was born.

2015 AO Qualifying in Pictures

Fourteen American men and four American women participated in the 2015 Australian Open qualifications, but only three successfully made it to the main draw.  Thirty-six year old Michael Russell, who declared 2015 as his last professional season,  27 year old Tim Smyczek, and the former Georgian representative, Anna Tatishvili, won three matches for a chance to compete with the best.  Nine men and three women claimed 1st round victories, six advanced to the final qualifying round including Jarmere Jenkins, Alex Kuznetsov, Chase Buchanan, and Alexa Glatch.  In the main draw, Smyczek draws wildcard and 2012 Junior AO winner, Luke Saville of Australia.  Russell gets No. 20 David Goffin (BEL) and Tatishvili opens her campaign against 44 year old Japanese, Kimiko Date-Krumm.  USA has a total of 24 players (7 men and 17 women) in the singles main events, spearhead by John Isner and World No. 1 Serena Williams.

10 American Teenagers to Watch in 2015 (ATP)

The 2014 season was a good year for the American boys with multiple players reaching the finals of Junior Grand Slams, Grade A, and G1 tournaments and claiming a fair share of the titles. Several players extended their success into the pro circuit and will look to continue testing themselves against the pros in 2015.  Below are my list of 10 American prospects to watch out for in the upcoming season.
   

Jared Donaldson 

Age: 18 (09 Oct 1996)
Height: 6-3

Plays: Right Handed (Double Handed Backhand)

2014 Year End ATP Ranking: 260

Career High ATP Ranking: 257 (17/11/2014)

2014 Highlights: The 2013 Kalamazoo Boys finalist won three straight futures titles in 2014 (1 Clay, 2 Hard) in Turkey and USA, respectively.  Donaldson qualified for his first ATP main draw at the Citi Open in Washington D.C. this past summer.  He also reached the quarterfinals of 100K Sacramento Challenger and semifinals of the 50K Challenger in Napa Valley.  The lanky 18 year old received a wildcard into the US Open and debuted against World No.24 Gael Monfils.  He jumped 471 ranking spots to 260 and with a small fraction of points (35) to defend until June, he looks to continue the climb.  If the Taylor Dent's pupil can improve his serve percentage and learn to control his temper, there's no reason he can't go far.