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.

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.

Decent Start to the 2015 American Campaign

Not a bad start to the new season from the American bunch highlighted by Venus Williams' victory in Auckland and the Hopman Final.  The ATP performance may not be as good as the WTA's, but there were some nice results at the lower tour events including a surprising start for Ryan Harrison and strong showings by the teenagers on the futures tour.

In the first week of the 2015 season, Venus Williams claimed her 46th title at the ASB Classic in Auckland.  The 34 year old upended fellow former World No.1, Caroline Wozniacki, 2-6 6-3 6-3.  With the victory, Williams is back up at No.18 on the WTA tour ranking.  Also in New Zealand, 21 year old Lauren Davis reached her first career semifinal coming back from 1st set deficient each time.  She defeated fellow Americans, Shelby Rogers and Sloane Stephens, as well as Pole Urszula Radwanska before falling to Williams.  CoCo Vandeweghe also made the quarterfinals.

2015 ITF World Junior Rankings

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has released the first edition of its' 2015 World Junior Rankings this week.  After the removal of the no longer eligible 1996 born players, the United States is left with fourteen boys and fourteen girls in the Top 100, the most of any nation.  Russia has the next highest total, with twenty-one players, followed by Australia with fourteen.  Stefan Kozlov and Catherine Cartan Bellis lead the USA's contingent.

Joining the 3rd ranked Kozlov, who was as highest as No.2, in the Top 10 Boys club are Taylor Harry Fritz (5) and Michael Mmoh (8).  Former World Junior No.2, Francis Tiafoe, Alex Rybakov, and Reilly Opelka round up the Top 25.  Other players inside the Top 50 include Henrik Wiersholm, William Blumberg, Tommy Paul, and Sameer Kumar.

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.