Rhyne Williams, Christian Harrison, and the long road back

Champaign, Illinois

Rhyne Williams. ©Jonathan Kelley

There they were, across the net from each other. Two comeback kids trying to restart their careers after a string of setbacks. Deep into a third set, well over three hours into a match that could pay big dividends down the road. 

For one, a 25-year-old former college star, back problems were what halted his progress at a high point in his career. For the other, the 22-year-old brother of a high-profile player, it was mostly about the hips and thighs.

Both blessed with plenty of talent, Rhyne Williams and Christian Harrison took very different routes to where they are now. But both have faced significant obstacles in their quest to fulfill their promise. The struggle, as they say, has been real. But both are now brimming with hope that they are on the right paths; still young, both can see themselves reaching newfound heights.

A win on Saturday in the Car-X Futures final would be a great stepping stone.

Getting to this point

After a fantastic junior career, during which he reached a high of #8 in the world ITF rankings and even won a Futures event at age 16, Rhyne Williams chose to attend the University of Tennessee, where he starred on one of the most talent-laden teams in recent college tennis history. After two years as a Volunteer (culminating with a three-set loss in the 2011 NCAA singles final to Steve Johnson), Williams turned pro and within two years had reached #114 in the world. He qualified for the 2014 Australian Open and drew Juan Martin del Potro, against whom he won the first set in an electrifying match. The next month he reached the Delray Beach ATP quarterfinals, beating Marcos Baghdatis along the way. Surely the Top 100 was around the corner. And then ... problems.

Williams started struggling with his back -- a herniated disc -- and by the middle of 2015 it proved too much.

"I had surgery on the low L5 S1, lower left back," Williams told me after his quarterfinal win on Thursday. "They just cut me open -- it's minimally invasive -- went in and shaved down the disc with the laser. Because my issue was the disc was just grinding on my nerve. So I had shooting pain all down my legs. Pretty much couldn't function."

That put him out for six months. "So they did that little repair, and I was actually healthy and ready to play in December. But I had another setback. I was on court in off-season, bent over to pick up a ball, I stood up and was like, 'Oh boy.' Could not walk for several weeks. I had 2 more herniations. So something crazy like that happens. Just a simple movement -- bending over, standing up and I did it again. So now I have 3 herniations."

Six more months out. He wouldn't return until this June of this year.

Christian Harrison, for his part, had already been forced to take a year and a half off as a teen due to a serious leg injury caused by a staph infection. Once he was able to return to tennis, still only 16, he eschewed the junior/college route and followed his brother, Ryan, into the pros. He won a Futures event at 19 and reached #351 in the world. And then ... pop.

"It was 3 years ago now, just over 3 years ago," Harrison said after his own quarterfinal win. "I had an adductor problem. I felt it pop in one of my matches, felt it tear. Ended up seeing some doctors, and tried doing some stuff to avoid surgery but just wasn't able to. And I'd already had that problem on the opposite side. So we decided that was the time to take care of both of my hips and adductors that were the problem. Originally we thought we could just have hip surgery on both sides and the problem was going to go away. But it didn't. Ended up having to do adductor also. In the meantime I had a little shoulder and wrist problem; that wasn't something that was killing me but it was something that I just had a little operation on both just to get it settled."

Christian Harrison tidies up. ©Jonathan Kelley.

(I told Harrison that I had noted quite a few teens getting hip surgery, and asked him his thoughts as to why. "If you look at how guys play now, they play with a lot more open stance, a lot more rotation, torque in the hips," he said. He also noted the change in equipment (both rackets and strings), and the concominant move to more western grips to generate more spin.)

Despite everything, Harrison stayed positive. He never forgot his goals. He would come back.

The Road Back

Williams spent the first half of the year focused on rehab. He is based at Saddlebrook in Tampa, Florida, where his fitness trainers, Dylan Smith and Chris May, are based, and where he worked with his "therapy guy," PJ Orgass. They have helped get him to a place where he can compete at this level. Smith and May, he said, "do an unreal job. They work with me, Denis Kudla, Tim Smyczek, Alex Kuznetsov. We have a really good group there. So Saddlebrook's really helping me out big time." 

"I really don't know how long it's going to last or how I'm able to play," he said. "But I just figured, 'Screw it, I have to give it a shot.' I honestly don't know how it's holding up. I've just done a ton of rehab, and I think that's been the key."

Williams returned to the court in June playing the qualies of Futures. He racked up 21 wins to only 6 losses en route to the Champaign final -- his first pro singles final since winning the Dallas Challenger in 2013. 

He declared, with no small hint of surprise in his voice, that the injuries aren't really affecting his game. "I feel like maybe I'm not in quite as good shape as a couple of years ago. But I feel like I'm moving just fine, serving fine. I'm not really limited out there. I definitely don't feel like I did pre-surgery, because I could not move a muscle. So I think things are looking up. As long as I can maintain where I'm at right now and just keep getting fitter, I think I'll be all right. We'll see."

(For the record, Williams said he was feeling good at the end of a four week stretch of hot, humid Futures in Illinois. When asked why he was stretching against the fence in the second set of his quarterfinal, he said it was due to concern about possible cramping -- not about the back.)

I asked Harrison to describe an average day for him when he was working his way through his layoff. "It was like 3 to 4 hours of rehabbing," he said. "I would probably sleep in -- I have trouble going to sleep if I'm not out playing tennis and getting tired -- so I was probably up until 2:00-3:00 every morning, and then I probably would sleep until 12:00-1:00 and then I would start my day at 1:30, going to rehab from 1:30-5:00, sometimes longer. I spent a lot of time with Jorge [Giral]," the physical therapist at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. "There I had everything that I needed. Countless guys helped me back. Another was Christopher Wheaton out in Vail. So I had tons of people as far as off-court stuff to get my body healthy again."

Harrison started his comeback slowly, playing World Team Tennis; doubles with his brother last year at Winston-Salem (they won their first round match); and then mixed doubles with another comeback kid, Victoria Duval, at the US Open. He returned in earnest this spring and had reached a couple of Futures quarterfinals before his run in Champaign, putting him on the cusp of the Top 1000.

Motivation and lessons learned

Harrison credited his past layoff with helping him through the more recent one. "I kind of knew what to expect a little bit better this time. Especially when I started back with tournaments, I was kind of aware of the things I wasn't doing well. It takes a while to get back into your routine at tournaments, just being around the guys again and learning how to keep yourself focused and just in that environment. That's a lot different, that you can't replicate in practice.

"So whether it was just writing things down when I was hurt, just being aware of the focus when I came back, I was already doing things like that to try to make it better this time."

Harrison also said the batch of younger Americans -- the Fritzes, the Tiafoes, the Donaldsons -- doing well has provided an extra push. "Honestly it's great for me because I can kind of compare myself with them and use it as motivation to stay with those guys who are coming up," he said. "Before I got hurt, they were younger so I never got the chance to play them. And now that they're breaking through, I haven't been able to see a lot of these guys play in person, but I do know them."

Given how much developmental time he missed, he notes, he's a similar "tennis age" to them. But, he adds, "You never want to get beat by a younger guy, especially from your country. It's good to see Americans doing well, but also from a competitive standpoint, it makes you a little more fired up."

Williams, too, has a higher-ranked, younger player he can point to for motivation: himself. He often thinks back to his matches at grand slams and other big tournaments. "Christopher, my cousin [and former coach], made me a really cool compilation of good points that he filmed over the 2 years that we were working together. So I actually go back and watch a lot of that stuff. It just really gets me fired up, to know that I've played at that level and I can do it again. It gives me hope. It's cool to look back at those moments. It's not every day that you're playing against Juan Martin del Potro in the Australian Open. It's cool to have that and I'm glad that Christopher made me that video, because I watch it once a week, maybe, especially in the tournaments."

Grinding it out

Despite their talent level, Williams and Harrison will need to grind it out to get to where they want to be. For both guys, wild cards will be less plentiful. And reaching the quarterfinals of Futures tournaments -- which often requires beating two very talented players -- only brings a few ranking points. “It’s pretty tough, honestly," said Williams. "Because the level is high here. Nobody out here is a plumber, I can guarantee that. Every match is tough. All these guys hit the ball like they're Top 300 at least. So it is frustrating when you feel like you're playing good tennis and you lose 2nd or 3rd round and you only leave with a couple hundred bucks and a few points. It is very tough. That’s why it’s so hard to get out of these and get to the next level. Because it grinds you down, that's for sure. So you really have to try and keep a positive attitude and just accept that you're going to have some tough losses, and you're going to leave some tournaments unsatisfied. That’s just tennis. But it’s always good to fall back on the experiences that I’ve had. "

"I know that I can play at a high level," he said matter-of-factly, "and as long as my body lets me I think that I have a good chance getting back there."

Harrison is also feeling positive. "Honestly right now I'm feeling better than I've felt yet," he said. "I was exploring around with treatments before and I finally found something I feel like is really clicking for me. Especially now I'm way more confident in myself to be able to not just play and not worry about getting hurt, throwing myself around the way that I need to; but also that I'll stay healthy. I still have a couple of hurdles that I'm going to get over, just naturally as you're coming back; if you see guys that come back from a lot of surgeries, they might be playing for a year or two but it still takes them a while to get their body feeling where they need, and for me that's why I'm going to make sure that allow more off weeks and if I feel something that I'm even the slightest bit unsure of then I'll just rest or take it at that time. But that's how I'm going to do things a little bit different this time around."

One thing Harrison has been working on is his timing -- a notable asset for him already. "I work on it all the time," he said. "You watch these top guys and, whether it's like Nishikori who trains down at Bradenton or David Ferrer. You know, they're not as big as some of these other guys that are able to get a lot more cheap points, but you watch them, and the timing of their strokes, just being able to really take balls on the rise, learn how to keep it short, holding that baseline and learning how to take time away from their opponent once they see them off balance. that's something that I really try to work on probably where that comes into play, because I try to utilize that in my points. That's something that I've been really trying to work on last couple of months."

The final

I wasn't able to witness the final, but it looks to have been quite the classic. After both guys had gotten to the last match without dropping a set, the two warriors went at it (according to the ITF live scores) for three sets. 231 points. 

3 hours and 34 minutes.

After winning the first set in a tiebreaker, Williams couldn't capitalize on his 5 break points in the second, and was broken himself in the sixth game. In the final set, Harrison raced to a 4-0 lead, but Williams chipped away to 3-4*. However, neither player could muster a break after that, and three games later, the match was over, along with the tournament, and this swing through the Land of Lincoln.

FINAL: Harrison d. Williams 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4. 27 rankings points for Harrison (back into the Top 700) and 15 for Williams (good enough for Top 750). A big help.

What's next

Williams' next stop was back to Saddlebrook, where he works with John Isner's coach Rene Moller, who is the director of tennis, and with coach Andrew Banks. After that, "I think I'm probably going to go to Canada. There are 3-4 $25Ks in a row [in late August/early September]. But it's funky -- It goes outdoor hard to green clay to outdoor hard to indoor hard. So I really don't know what to think of that. Maybe play 2 or 3 of them. I don't know. But I'm probably going to need a couple of weeks off after this, that's for sure." Then his goal is to try to get into the draws of the fall indoor challenger events that in recent years have comprised the USTA Australian Open Wild Card Challenge. "I always play well at those. Indoors is great for me. So who knows. If I can get my ranking up high enough to get into those then definitely, that would be huge. So that's the goal I guess."

Harrison is also planning on going to Canada for those Futures. The one thing that might delay that trip? A potential wild card to US Open qualifying. "I'm still waiting to hear. You know, I haven't been able to play a lot so I haven't had a chance to get my ranking there, but I'm hoping, if I can continue to do well here and prove that I'm healthy that I'll have a chance there, but it's tough to say because there are so many good younger American guys that they might want to give a chance with the USTA." He said that would be "completely understandable," considering he got some of those opportunities when he was their age.

Both guys can use all the help they can get on their roads back. They are still quite young by modern tennis standards, when ATP and Challenger finals between players in their 30s has become commonplace. And both have the ability to play world-class tennis.

As long as their bodies let them.

Champaign Super Thursday

It was a steamy morning on the blue courts of the University of Illinois' Atkins Tennis Center. At 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, eight players gathered to play the four quarterfinal matches of the Car-X Futures of Champaign, the final stop in a four-week series of $25,000 events in southern and central Illinois. The first two legs of the series were won by former University of Tennessee player Tennys Sandgren. Last week's Decatur tournament was won by past University of Southern California star Roberto Quiroz. And 3 of 4 semifinalists on this day were similarly former college standouts.

It was tough to keep track of all the matches, as they were played simultaneously and three of them ended within minutes of each other. It was a bit of a three-ring circuit atmosphere. But with four rings. And about as many spectators as performers.

The tennis was played at a pretty high level, despite the conditions and lack of atmosphere. “The level is high out here," said Rhyne Williams. "Nobody out here is a plumber, I can guarantee that." I assume that’s good thing.

Rhyne Williams. (c) Jonathan Kelley,
On the Rise

Williams, on the nearest court to the tennis center, played Tulane University star Dominik Koepfer of Germany, one of just two non-American singles players left in the draw. Koepfer is coached in part, and uncomfortably in this situation, by Rhyne’s cousin and former coach, Christopher Williams, who was one of three spectators for the match (the others being the father of a young ball kid and, for the better part of a set, me). 

The match itself was a good test for the recently-back-from-injury Williams, with left-handed Koepfer (who was for a time the top-ranked collegiate in the country) showing off his variety and speed. The rallies were long, thanks partially to the balls fluffing up, according to Williams. Both players also had to contend with a weird acoustic effect that caused the chair umpire to call lets on very-much-non-let Koepfer serves. In the end, Williams saved all four break points he faced, and converted on three of the four he forced, and that was very much that.

At one point in the second set, I noticed Williams stretching at the back of the court. He said afterward his back felt fine, but that he was a little concerned he was starting to cramp. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to go to a third set, winning 6-2 6-4.

On the next court, the home favorite Jared Hiltzik — who just ended his storied career at the University of Illinois — did have to go to a third set. That's because his opponent was a juggernaut in the first set. Like Koepfer, Hiltzik is traveling with Christopher Williams, who is part of Billy Heiser’s team at Saddlebrook in Tampa, Florida, that also includes Tim Smyczek and Denis Kudla. Hiltzik will be moving there next week as he continues the early stages of his post-college professional tennis career.

On this day, Hiltzik found himself struggling early against Stanford's rising sophomore Sameer Kumar, who was particularly brilliant at the net. Kumar got the only break of the first set on his only break point opportunity to go up 5-3, then won a tough game to take the first set 6-3. The second set started out much like the first one, with no break points on offer ... until the sixth game, when Kumar double faulted to give Hiltzik his first break point of the match. Point taken. Sets split.

In the final set, Hiltzik waltzed to a 5-1 lead and had two match points on Kumar's serve, but the Cardinal had one more fight left in him, and won the next 7 points to hold, then break, and give himself a fighting chance. But serving at 3-5, he couldn't keep up his level and he lost, 6-3 in the third.

“Sameer — he’s a great player," said Hiltzik of his fellow Midwest native.  "I’ve always known how good of a player he is. Great coaches, he was trained by Brian Smith growing up and now Paul Goldstein at Stanford. I made some mid-match adjustments, and I'm kind of lucky I got away with that one."

As to the specific adjustments he made, Hiltzik said, "He’s a good serve and volleyer, so I had to make adjustments on my return, my return position. He's not going to miss too much, so you just have to create more opportunities. It's a good moving-forward point for me in becoming more aggressive."

Like his opponent on the day, Hiltzik has a Big 10-playing brother. Kumar’s brother, Mihir, just graduated from Northwestern University. Hiltzik’s brother, Aron will be returning the the Illini in the fall.

And yesterday, the two brothers faced each other for the very first time in singles in a professional tournament. “It was brutal. Brutal,” said Jared, who won 6-3 0-6 7-6(3). “Never want to do it again. I think if it ever happens again, we would do some things different," like talk ahead of time to make sure that both players are secure in the other competing as hard as possible.

Hiltzik remembered playing only once in a Boys 12s tournament. "I think my mom was crying, I was crying, Aron was crying. She made us split sets so we could go three sets." When asked if there were tears this week, Hiltzik replied, “Oh yeah. Yep. Mom was crying. After the match I got pretty emotional just because it was really stressful. I think he was a little emotional, too."

Speaking of brothers, on the next court over was yet another brother of a player, although not a college one. Christian Harrison, brother of Ryan, was steady as Simone Biles on a balance beam against big-hitting but inconsistent Takanyi Garanganga of Zimbabwe.

Harrison won 6-3 6-1 to make his first semifinal since May 2013, not long before he was sidelined for over two years with hip and other issues. Harrison was extremely solid on his service games — he hit 7 aces, lost only 2 points on his first serve, and faced zero break points — and took advantage of some loose errors from Garanganga on the forehand side. Garanganga also double faulted 12 times.

Harrison said, "It was a match where you really have to focus on and take what he gives you sometimes."

I asked Harrison -- who is smaller of stature than his older brother -- how he would describe his game, and what he prides himself on. "Not really having a weaker side that's really glaring, that guys can pick on," he said. "Being able to hustle using anticipation and speed; having good court awareness; and then just trying to do all the fundamentals, the basics of the game right. And just recognizing the opponent's court positioning and trying to take care of that. It's not like if you watch Ryan, you immediately know he's going to get a bunch of free points on his serve."

Also, he had an explanation for this:

Christian Harrison doesn't keep the tidiest of changeover areas pic.twitter.com/QONVNLVFXe

— Jonathan Kelley (@jokelley_tennis) August 11, 2016

Something about not wanting to have to dig through his bag for a new sweatband during short changeovers.

Finally, way out on court 6, the last match to finish was between Wil Spencer and Northwestern University’s Strong Kirchheimer. It was great to be able to see Spencer in person — he was one of the first players I ever interviewed for this blog — and as is his wont he gave us an exciting match, holding off the big-hitting Wildcat 3-6 7-6(3) 6-0.

Wil Spencer. (c) Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise

It was doubly great to see Spencer compete as it was just a few months ago that I read about Spencer's retirement from professional tennis. But he's decided to give it yet another shot, and he's making the best of it, with a quarterfinal in his first ITF tournament back (including a win over Harrison) and now a semifinal in his second.

Spencer noted that Kirchheimer clearly didn’t have his legs under him in the final set, thinks in large part to having to play three consecutive three-setters, including his previous round in which he upset top seed Sandgren 7-5 0-6 6-4. Given Spencer’s grinding style, fatigue is not something you want to feel when facing him. Kirchheimer agreed that he was "pretty dead" toward the end but was pleased with where his game was relative to when he started the Illinois swing.

Kirchheimer played #3 singles at Northwestern last year, where he had one of the best seasons in school history. "I love Northwestern, I love everything about it," he said. "Our coaches are great, the program is great, we have a bunch of guys on the team who want the same thing. Last year was really fun; I did a lot of good things and so did the team. It was really important just to try to stay level through that. It meant a lot but I'm trying to build off that and have a little bit better senior year."

I'll have more on Spencer's path, along with Harrison's and Williams', in a future post.

The semifinals will feature Spencer vs. Harrison and Williams vs. Hiltzik. One of those four men will get a sizable 27 points for winning the tournament, while the losing finalist will get 15 and the other two will get 8 points. At the Futures level, winning tournaments is just about the only thing that can help get you to that next level, the ATP Challenger Tour.

In doubles, Hiltzik and Koepfer took out #2 seeds Gonzalo Escobar and Alejandro Gomez to reach the final, where they’ll face Hiltzik’s former teammate Tim Kopinski, who teamed with Alex Lawson to beat another Illini, Dennis Nevolo, and Chad “The Flavor Doctor” Rhoden, who I believe by making the semifinals will make his ATP ranking debut at the age of 40!

Getting to know: Siddharth Chari

On Sunday, I had the opportunity to take my third consecutive trip to the USTA Boys' 16s & 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I only had part of an afternoon to spend, and that meant the only options on the Kalamazoo College courts for me were the Boys 16s singles 2nd round matches. I took the opportunity to check out players who were new to me, and one of the matches that caught my eye was an engaging tussle between two players of South Asian heritage: a tall, lanky player named Shiddharth Chari and his shorter opponent, #26 seed Nevin Arimilli of Texas. I was taken by Chari's big strokes and his fluency at net. Many of the games were tense, drawn-out affairs; in the end, Chari took the match 7-5 6-4.

I thought it would be interesting to talk to this low-profile player to learn more about his journey to Kalamazoo and give On the Rise readers insight into the life of a lower profile junior player. Many thanks to Chari for taking the time to talk!

Can you tell us your name?
Siddharth Chari.

And where are you from?
Saratoga, California.

And where is that?
It’s kind of close to San Jose, about an hour from San Francisco. So, Bay Area.

Tell us about your journey. How did you end up at Nationals?
Well, I was an alternate last year, but this past year, I’ve been playing really well, I really stepped up my game knowing that it’s getting close to college and I kind of want to go D1. So I was training really hard and I was really happy to make it here. I’m ecstatic over this win, I can’t believe I’m in the third round. It's pretty cool.

You played a seeded player. Did you know anything about him before you played him?
I’d never played him, I just knew he was ranked higher than me. That’s all I knew.

Where about are you ranked now?
I’m around, I think, #66 in the nation for 16-and-under. Obviously he’s higher, that’s why he’s seeded. That's why it's an awesome win for me.

Where are you ranked in your Section?
I think I’m ranked 7th or 8th in the NorCal Section.

So you’ve played some of these other guys at the tournament before?
Yeah for sure. I think there are 10 or 11 kids from NorCal and I’ve played all of them. And then there are also a few kids from other sections that I’ve played, at other nationals like Clay Courts and intersectionals and some Level 2s.

So tell me about your match today. What worked well for you?
My serves, for sure. On huge points I would break out a huge kick serve or a huge first serve, which really helped me. My confidence level on my service games, knowing that I would hit a big serve really helped me.

Also, my mentality — my mental toughness during break points really helped me. I knew I had nothing to lose because he was the higher seeded player, so I just left everything out there, really happy I came out with a win.

You've got something of a cannon of a forehand. Has that always been a weapon of yours?
No, not always. Actually my backhand used to be better than my forehand but recently I had a bad left wrist injury so I was just practicing forehands and now it’s a weapon of mine.

It seems a little bit unorthodox, your technique on it. Would you agree?
Yeah it is. My coach when I was really young told me to “break my wrist” so I’d get more hook on my balls, so I just kept it that way.

On my backhand, I have a little injury on my backhand. I think the breaking my wrist so much has taken its toll on my wrist, a little tendonitis. Hopefully it heals soon, and I’m playing well still.

Who are you here with?
Just my dad.

Did he give you any advice before your match today?
Just in general. Nothing specific against this opponent, just he gave me these five things to do. Bend my knees, because I’m a tall guy and a lot of times, stupid errors, don’t bend my knees. A lot of it was just mental. Like take your time between points, breathe, don’t get mad at yourself over anything, and just have fun out there, fight.

Did you have any chance to do any YouTube/video research on your opponent before your started?
No, I didn’t know much about him other than asking a friend how he played, but that didn’t really help.

Can I ask where you are on your college journey?
I’m starting to look at colleges right now. But I haven’t talked to anyone yet. After this tournament, going into Junior year, starting September 1 I can start talking to coaches.

Is there a part of the country or division that you’d like to be in particularly?
I’m going for Division I, and I kind of want to move East Coast but I mean there are some amazing schools on the West Coast like Stanford. But I’m going to start touring colleges and looking into that.

Do you have a favorite professional player?
Not really a favorite, but I just like looking at how amazing Djokovic is. It’s like a joke. He’s amazing. Just all the pros are so good. I like Kei Nishikori, he’s pretty cool.

Have you ever had a chance to hit against a pro?
No.

When did you start playing?
When I was 7 or 8.

What’s your favorite surface?
Hard for sure.

Have you ever played on grass?
Yeah, I like grass. I don’t really like clay. My game doesn’t suit clay. [Smiles.]

What about your transition game — coming forward — is that something that you work on a lot?
Yeah for sure. It was really bad actually just the beginning of this year. My dad would tell me to bend my knees. I would just go up there, thinking it was an easy shot, and I would just hit without bending my knees and it would be a careless error. But I’ve been working on it a lot. My big idea when hitting those is it doesn’t have to be a great shot. Keep it safe so you can come to net, finish off there. It’s really helped me.

What about volleys?
Volleys … my coach used to be a professional doubles player, so he’s really helped me just stick it. So my technique is really good on volleys.

What’s your coach’s name?
Sandy Mayer. [Mayer, a former Top 10 ATP player, reached the 1973 Wimbledon semifinals (beating top seed Ilie Nastase along the way); that same year he was part of the Stanford national championship team. Mayer's brother Gene reached #4 in the world; the two brothers teamed up to win the 1979 French Open in men's doubles.]

Postscript: Chari fell in his third round match 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 to Niroop Vallabhaneni of Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Ronaldo and the social responsibility of athletes

by Beau Treyz

Several weeks ago we got to see the 8-pack abs, the bulging biceps and the hair that somehow looks perfectly styled after Cristiano Ronaldo scored the game winning penalty kick and ripped his jersey to pieces in celebration. Ronaldo is an incredible specimen. It’s hard not to judge him off his appearance and the way he’s portrayed by the media, but I cannot forget that that is not all there is to him. In 2013, years before winning the Champions League title for Real Madrid, Ronaldo said, “Listen, I’m not going to change the world, you’re not going to change the world. But we can help, we can all help.” Appreciating Ronaldo for these types of comments is massive when I think of how much influence he has on soccer fans around the world; recognizing him as a thoughtful human being is just as important as noticing his newest hair cut. It’s also key to recognize that when he says, “I’m not going to change the world, you’re not going to change the world”, he means that it won’t happen instantaneously; no one of us can snap our fingers and make the world a wonderland.

As I’ve started traveling and competing on the Futures Tour, I’ve seen places and people that I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise and those experiences have made me question what I’m doing. How can I change the world? How can I help? What kind of help does the world need? What I mean by “help” is making a positive impact on the community I live in, and using myself as a tool for others’ success. Hitting forehands doesn’t help anybody; it really just furthers my own career. To drive past the sheet-metal huts in Cape Town, South Africa and think that they don’t have running water, while I’m spending my life playing tennis is a reminder that there are more important things in the world than tennis; a reminder that there are more important things than the outcome of my tennis career. Although I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do to help the world yet, I think questioning what it is that we do is vital. What I like about Ronaldo saying “we can help, we can all help” is that no matter what it is we do, it’s our responsibility to help make the world better in whatever way we can. At his level of fame, Ronaldo really does change the world by playing soccer. He inspires kids, he helps families bond over the teams he plays for, he gives cities and nations hope; the way he acts on and off the field will resonate and shape people that look up to him. In a way he’s lucky because his own value to the world must be so obvious to him.

Would it make me, a less famous person, feel better if I knew who and how I was impacting people? Yes, I think it would. But is it our purpose to make the world better in whatever way we see fit? Or maybe it’s my own ego that makes me think I can have a positive impact on the entire world; maybe I just think if everyone was more like me the world would be a better place? Why isn’t it enough to have an impact in the community in which I live? Why do I not value my impact as much as the perceived impact I think other people have? Am I still comparing myself to others? I am where I am, and it is my responsibility to do what I can. I don’t mean that I should settle for jobs I don’t want, but instead make my current situation work the way I want my future situation to.

I still hold on to the dream of “making it” in tennis, or in whatever career path I choose after my playing days are done. I would love to play the US Open, or have my podcasts and blogs take off and write for the New York Times; those are goals and dreams of mine. But what I see now is that I can’t wait until those things happen or don’t happen in order to take responsibility for my time. If I’m playing Futures in Greece and there are kids watching my match, to them I’m a big-time tennis player. I have a responsibility to compete and act in such a way that I would like those kids to; my responsibility is the same as Ronaldo’s, only on a much smaller scale. I may only be able to reach a few people through my athletic career, but those people still matter; and the way I act and carry myself matters. I should not let myself off the hook simply because I am not famous and internationally known.

As an athlete I’ve always felt like it’s only the super successful athletes that can make comments like Ronaldo’s. Or maybe those super successful players are just the ones the media covers closer and more often, so they’re the ones we hear about. Arthur Ashe said, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” To me this is very similar to Ronaldo saying, “we can all help.” So far I’ve found that the world is full of competition and comparisons; between people, races, and cultures. But just because some gain enormous followings and affect many people doesn’t diminish the fact that some of us have minor impacts on the world and those around us.

A couple of weeks ago we saw Portugal win the 2016 European Championships, in which Ronaldo played great until a knee injury forced him out of the Championship game against France. As I sit here writing this I can’t help but think how fortunate I have been in life to even wonder how I’m supposed to give meaning to my life; I have time to think about bigger ideas, I’m not focused on survival. I also wonder if I’ll answer these questions I have, or will I ever be satisfied. It may be idealistic but I hope I never stop thinking about how I am impacting the world; because I run into other people everyday and how I act towards others is my own choice, and those choices shape the communities and cultures I live in. Ronaldo was harshly criticized by the media for his sideline antics during the finals, where he was constantly giving instructions to teammates and firing them up. But if he had sat on the sidelines and sulked about his injury he would have been framed as selfish and immature; now he’s brash and needs to be the center of attention; no matter what he does someone will talk about it. I would rather talk about the big picture with athletes, and try to find the meaning behind what they do in the world rather than what they do in the heat of the game, because wins and losses are always replaced with the next week’s results, but an athlete’s legacy can last forever.

Stefan Kozlov is making strides

Stefan Kozlov won the doubles title at the 2016 Winnetka
Challenger. (c) Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise

Stefan Kozlov is a fun tennis player to watch. This isn't breaking news, of course. Anyone who watched him during his illustrious junior days, or who has followed his still-nascent pro career, can attest to what he brings to the sport: a full array of shots, a vocal enthusiasm, a flair for the dramatic.

Kozlov currently sits at a career-high #169 in the ATP rankings, having started the year at #351. He's the world's 7th-ranked teen, although only the 4th-ranked American teen. Still just 18 years old, Kozlov is the youngest member of the group of Americans, born between February 1996 and February 1998, that currently includes 8 of the 23 players under 21 years old in the Top 325. (No three other countries combined have more than 7 players in that age and ranking range.)

Last month on the grass of s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, Kozlov received a wildcard and notched his first two ATP match wins, over Yoshihito Nishioka and then American Steve Johnson, who two weeks later won his first ATP tournament in Nottingham and then reached the Wimbledon 4th round. Koz then lost 6-3 6-0 to soon-thereafter Novak Djokovic conqueror Sam Querrey.

Last week in Winnetka, Kozlov lost in the second round to eventual semifinalist Go Soeda, but teamed with Australian JP Smith to nab his second career challenger doubles title. (In the final, the natural left-hander showed off his skills by hitting a lefty forehand winner. See the 24-minute mark.) It was his 8th title as a pro, a total that includes four Futures singles titles, all since last fall.

I had the opportunity to talk with Kozlov following his and Smith's thrilling 4-6 7-5 (11-9) second round doubles win over the Winnetka top seeds, Dijiv Sharan and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.

OTR: Just wanted to catch up with you, see how things are going. You had your first big pro trip playing a lot of bigger tournaments, when you went to Europe. Can you walk us through how that went for you?
SK: Yeah, I went over to Europe for 2 months and played a lot on red clay – a surface that I’m not so familiar with – and grass, a surface that I like. I played a lot of matches over there, fortunately, and I started playing a lot better on the red clay toward the end of the trip. But unfortunately I had to start playing grass then, and obviously I enjoyed the grass, had a lot of fun there, played some good people.

OTR: You made your first ATP quarterfinal while you were out there. How big was that for you?
SK: It was a very exciting week. I was having a lot of fun on court and playing some really good tennis and enjoying it, and I was really excited to beat a couple of good guys.

OTR: You beat a guy in Steve Johnson who just made the 4th round of Wimbledon. What does that tell you about where you’re at right now?
SK: That just tells me that I’m able to play at the level of these guys and keep being able to compete with them. Obviously Stevie’s a very good player. I played my best – I don’t know how he played – but it just shows that we’re all very close to going to the next level.

OTR: What does that next level look like in terms of your tennis? Not just your strokes but also your match play awareness?
SK: I’ve just got to keep building my ranking to get to the next level, and I’ve gotta keep improving every shot in my game and every mental aspect of my game. If I do that then hopefully I’ll get to the next level with all of the other Americans

OTR: When you’re playing guys like Stevie and Sam out there, are you consciously seeing it as a development opportunity, are you looking at it just in terms of a win or a loss? What are you thinking about on court?
SK: I’m just thinking about learning from these guys and getting a good experience, and hopefully I can see where my game is at against top players in the world and that’s what I did that week – just tried to see where my game was at. Obviously Sam beat me pretty handily, that was very tough.

OTR: I know you take a lot of pride in your return game. What is it that you think will make you an elite returner on the ATP?
SK: I think I’ve just got to be quicker – quicker split-stepping and moving, cause the guys, they serve really … they put it in good spots where you’ve really got to be able to move quick. I think if I get it in the middle of the racquet and I swing at it hard, that will help me out for sure.

OTR: You're now into the Top 200, which is going to help you get into some tournaments from here on out. What is your summer schedule going to look like?
SK: Just going to try to mix in one or two ATPs and the rest challengers so I can keep building my game and stuff like that. I’ll play Newport next week; I’ll play Binghamton and then Lexington I believe, and then not sure about after that.

OTR: Are you thinking at all about the USTA Wild Card Challenge?
SK: Yeah, I would love to get a wildcard into the Open. So whatever it takes to try to do it, I’ll for sure put myself in a position to.

OTR: In a few weeks is Kalamazoo [site of the USTA Boys National Championships]; you’re not going to be there for the first time in a while. Do you have any memories of that now that you’re a veteran of those wars?

SK: (With a wry smile.) Who knows, I might be there. I can still play of course. I’m just messing around. Probably not, but I had a lot of memories at Kalamazoo. One of the best junior tournaments I’ve ever played, always a lot of fun there. And it’s very well run by Mark Riley. It’s a blast, I have a lot of good memories. I’m never going to forget the match last year, the five-setter [against Frances Tiafoe in the final]. One of the toughest losses of my life, but we got over it and I love that place.

OTR: You and Frances Tiafoe are pretty close in the rankings right now. Are you guys aware of where each other is at and do you use it as motivation?
SK: Yeah we mess around. We know where each other is ranked and we try to pass each other every week, and we mess around a little bit. I caught up to him [after Kozlov's first round match] we had the same amount of points, and then he went up again [by reaching the Winnetka final]. (Laughs.) We’re playing cat and mouse here. We’re pretty good friends, we usually support each other.

OTR: Are you where you thought you would be a year ago? Or were you even thinking a year about being consistently at the Grand Slam qualifiers level?

SK: I wasn’t really thinking about that, I was just trying to improve my game and learn as much as I could from people around me. I wasn’t really worried about anything, just getting better. It’s still my objective today.

OTR: You picked up a few trophies the last several months. Are those trophies important to you or is it all about the points?
SK: I don’t mind about either, I like challenging myself with the ranking, and keep going up. New career highs are very fun for me. I had good success winning some Futures at the beginning of the year and then I moved up, so now it’s a little bit tougher to win tournaments, but hopefully I can start doing it again (laughs).

OTR: If you were to envision yourself a year from now – I know it’s tough to do – but where would you like to be? Where Taylor Fritz [current ranking: #64] is now, where Alexander Zverev [current ranking: #27] is now?
SK: I don’t know where I’d like to be, it really depends on how things turn out. But of course I want to be as good as I can be and I honestly don’t know what that’s going to be, so hopefully where Zverev is or … I don’t know.

OTR: Finally, how has it been traveling with your brother [Boris, age 15] this week?

SK: A lot of fun. He's not much around.

Top Team USA Headlines from the First Half of 2016

Top ten USA storylines, First Half

1. Serena Can't Catch-22 (Yet)

After winning the first three major titles in 2015, completing her second Serena Slam and setting up the
incredible drama of attempting a calendar slam, the question of when Serena Williams would match Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 majors seemed almost academic. And yet ... and yet the World #1 since February 8, 2013 has now found herself on the losing side of a slam semifinal and, this year, two finals. The finals losses were something she'd only experienced 4 times in her prior 25 major finals and never in her prior 6 Australian Open or 3 French Open finals.

In Australia, it seemed that nerves may have been as big a factor as Angelique Kerber's impressive play in a 6-4 in the third loss. In Paris, Serena was clearly hamstrung by an injury, but even so, Garbiñe Muguruza was playing at a high level worthy of a major champion (and having been in a final before, she wasn't overwhelmed by the moment).

Despite these stumbles, Williams will be a strong favorite at Wimbledon and, likely, the US Open. 22 still feels like a given, just a tiny bit less of a given than it did 11 months ago.

Serena did get one title in the first half, in Rome, where she beat Madison Keys 7-6(5) 6-3 in the final. The title keeps alive her 10-year WTA title streak.

2. Sloane, in the Zone, Thrice Claims Throne

It was once said, in the olden days of tennis, that Sloane Stephens was the best player not to reach a WTA final. Now she can't lose one.

Last summer, she won Washington, DC last summer, and then this year she beat all comers -- including Caroline Wozniacki in the Auckland semifinals, Dominika Cibulkova in a thrilling Acapulco final, and Angelique Kerber via retirement in the Charleston semifinal -- to win three more titles.

Sloane is now back in the Top 20, for the first time since her Wimbledon 2013 quarterfinal points came off in July 2014.

Weirdly, it's been nearly a year since Stephens has won more than 2 matches in any tournament she hasn't won: At 2015 Eastbourne she beat 3 players and got a walkover from Daria Gavrilova before falling to Aga Radwasnska in three sets in the semis. It's really been an odd pattern, and something to pay attention to in the second half.

3. Fritz Pits Don't Schvitz

Taylor Fritz is a very good player. He has an excellent serve befitting his 6'4" frame, can pound the forehand and is very comfortable as well on the backhand side. Most impressively, he rarely seems to sweat in big moments.

Last fall, after winning the Junior US Open, he broke through on the pro tour in a big way, winning back-to-back challengers. Then at the Australian Open, he overcame a 0-4 in the third deficit against Mischa Zverev to qualify and, once there, pushed Jack Sock to a fifth set.

But the thing is: he's still only 18. It remains very difficult to succeed at the ATP level as a teenager, no matter your skill set. To wit: only 3 teens are currently in the ATP Top 140. Fritz is one of them, thanks to his prior work in the challengers, and then a fantastic run to the Memphis final as a wild card.

It's important not to get too carried away just yet. (As I write this, Fritz just lost a tough match to a qualifier on grass in Halle.) But he seems to have a good head on his shoulders, strong competitive drive, and those big, big weapons. Good things await the kid ... including matrimony.

She said yes❤️ !!! @RaquelPedraza98 #engaged sometimes when you know, you just know ! 💍✔️ pic.twitter.com/5hVHVPl2T7

— Taylor Fritz (@Taylor_Fritz97) May 30, 2016

4. Falconi Crests 

The same weekend that an earthquake was devastating her birth city of Portoviejo, Ecuador, Irina Falconi won two three-setters over Spanish women to reach her first WTA final, then win her first WTA title in Bogota, Colombia. In winning the tournament, Falconi, who attended Georgia Tech for 2 years, became the first WTA titlist who was also a former college player since Lisa Raymond (Florida) won the 2003 Memphis tournament.

Falconi and her boyfriend, Travis Hartman, have raised over $25,000 for UNICEF to help with earthquake relief.

5. Shelby Comin' Round the Mountain

Shelby Rogers has a big game that has proven itself to shine brightest on clay. She knows how to move on the surface, she's good at constructing points, and has shown a willingness to gut out longer points with defense, hustle, and variety when necessary. Back in 2014, she made her first WTA final seemingly out of nowhere on the clay in Bad Gastein, Austria as a qualifier, beating Carla Suarez Navarro, Camila Giorgi, and Sara Errani before losing to Andrea Petkovic. This year she got to the Rio final, also on clay, falling to Francesca Schiavone in three sets.

But very few people could have expected her outstanding run last month at Roland Garros, during which she beat three seeds to reach the French Open quarterfinals. She lost 7-5 6-3 to eventual champion Muguruza -- a match in which she held set point on her serve. Considering she was the last person to make the cut when the entry list came out, it was all in all a huge effort and, in this blog's humble opinion, a sign of even better things to come.

6. Chirico, Que Rico!

In the center of Madrid, in Puerta del Sol square, is a statue called El Oso y El Madroño. It replicates the city's coat of arms, which shows a bear attempting to get fruit from a strawberry tree. Earlier this spring at the Mutua Madrid Open, Louisa Chirico was that bear. And her opponents were those strawberries. And she picked off a bunch of them, en route to a huge semifinal berth.

First she qualified against Falconi and Mariana Duque-Marino, dropping just eight games in four sets. Then she upset Monica Niculescu and Ana Ivanovic, got a walkover from Vika Azarenka, and toppled Gavrilova in the quarterfinals. She got double breadsticked by Cibulkova in the semis, but the streak helped vault her inside the Top 100 for the first time -- up to #76 in fact! Magnifico!

7. Querrey Quietly Quells Questioners 

The only American man to win a title this year? The one who leads the USA charge in the Race to London? The one who notched a win over a slam winner (del Potro) and another against a top 10er (Nishikori)?

Sam Austin Querrey.

Look, you never know with Sam. He's had a very nice career for himself, and at 28 he's younger than half the ATP Top 100. There will be plenty more opportunities for wins for him and his fans. We'll all just have remember to be patient when things don't pan out in a particular match.

It's just the Way of the Sam.

8. Top Lads Flop Bad. Stop! Sad!

John Isner, Steve Johnson, Donald Young came into 2016 with high hopes. Isner was a win away from having finished 2015 in the Top 10, Johnson was coming off his first career final, and Young was solidly inside the Top 50. But between them, the first half of 2016 was something of a horror show. Isner suffered through 5 losses in 5 third-set tiebreaks. Johnson went 6-13. Young dropped down to the Challenger circuit to gain some confidence, and ended up losing in the semis and quarters of the two events he played -- both to teenage Americans.

Isner at least had a relatively rosy end to the half, reaching the French Open 4th round before losing to good ol' Andy Murray. And all three guys are hoping grass fixes what's ailed them. They're all playing Queens this week, and Johnson got a nice win over Gasquet while Young qualified and won his first round match.

9. Bethanie Makes Her (Olympic) Squad Goals come true

She had to sweat it out a bit at the end there, but Bethanie Mattek-Sands will be able to call herself an Olympian come this summer. Despite being unable to come close to defending her 2015 Australian Open and French Open titles, Mattek-Sands won just enough doubles matches this spring to clinch a spot in the post-French Open WTA Top 10, which gives her automatic entry into the Rio Games. She and CoCo Vandeweghe teamed up to win Indian Wells, giving us CoCo fans hopes that that team will join the Williams Sisters in repping the Stars & Stripes in Brazil.

... as long as she can get that left thumb healed.

Sliced my way through my matches @rolandgarros with a fractured thumb but now it's time to heal up! #I❤️Paris @Wta pic.twitter.com/ZYjDfawxgp

— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) May 27, 2016

10. He's on the Right Track, Baby, He Was Bjorn This Way

Finally, a big shout out to the only American to make his ATP Top 100 debut so far this spring: Bjorn Fratangelo. The Pittsburgher took a set off Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells (worth no money or points but plenty of cred), won the Savannah Challenger (and with it the USTA's French Open wild card), reached the Bordeaux Challenger final, and grabbed his first match win at a major over Sam Querrey in Paris.

Bjorn is defending a good number of points this summer, so there could still be fluctuations, but it looks to this blogger like he's got the game, focus, and motivation to continue charging up the rankings.

Catching up with Bradley Klahn

Bradley Klahn helping the Cardinal. Sameer Kumar is in the
background. (c) Jonathan Kelley, On the Rise

A couple of weeks ago, during the NCAA Regionals, I had the opportunity to talk with Bradley Klahn, the former Stanford star who has been serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the Cardinal. Klahn, who won the NCAA singles title in 2010, reached a career high of #63 on the ATP in 2014. Klahn hasn't played since February 2015, at which point he underwent back surgery and has been in rehab/recovery mode ever since.

On this day, Stanford had just won the first round over Notre Dame, a match that was played indoors due to weather, with senior Nolan Paige clinching the win. The following day, Stanford would punch its ticket to Tulsa with a dramatic 4-3 win over host Northwestern.

How are you enjoying your assistant volunteer coach gig? 

It’s been fun. I’m very thankful to [Associate Head Coach] Brandon [Coupe] and [Head Coach] Paul Goldstein for letting me help out the team a little bit. Stanford tennis meant a lot to me and I’ve really enjoyed working with the guys. We’ve got a great group of individuals who work hard and are a lot of fun to be around. 

What’s your focus while you’re doing this? 

Right now it’s just trying to help the team as much as I can, if I feel like I have something to offer the team. Brandon was such a great assistant for me at Stanford and I’ve known Paul a long time. Like I said, I was very fortunate when they asked me to come on board and help out, and just do my best to help the team improve; see them improve as individuals on and off the court. 

A lot of people have been asking about how your recovery is coming. 

It’s coming along a lot better the last couple of months. I still don’t have any set timeline. At this point I’ve been out over a year and had some struggles, up and down, and dealing with injuries is never easy. But I’m still 100% committed to getting back and I feel like I have a good plan right now in place to get me back out there. I don’t have any expectations as to when I’ll get back out there, but I love playing tennis, I love playing professionally, and when it’s taken away from you for a while it gets tricky. I certainly was doing well before I got injured and I’ve dealt with it a while. Now it’s just about finding that happiness and being really grateful for the opportunity that I have to still try and play, and work hard to get back out there. 

Are you following the pro tour much? 

I’ve been following it a little bit. I go in waves. Sometimes it’s challenging when you’re off for so long, you want to be out there, you want to be a part of it, have fun and do what you love. I’ve grown up playing tennis all my life, so when you don’t get that competition for a while, that’s what I miss most, just being out there, competing. 

Are you in contact with friends on tour? 

I keep in touch with them a little bit, and I’m in LA, so I see a fair amount of the guys when they come and train in Carson. Those are a lot of my good friends that I’ve traveled with, grown up playing with through juniors. So that’s another hard part, not being able to spend as much time with them out there. And I keep in touch with my coach, Stanford Boster quite frequently. He’s working with Mitchell Krueger and Stefan Kozlov. He was with Bjorn Fratangelo last year and now Bjorn’s with Brad Stine. 

Did you face Northwestern when you were in college? 

I don’t think we did. We certainly never played at Northwestern. I have family from the Midwest, so coming back to Chicago is nice. I love the area. But no, we never played. 

Are you guys hoping for better weather for tomorrow?

We’ll play wherever they put us. I think that’s the great thing about our team… indoor, outdoor, I think they’re ready. They’ve certainly played well in both places, and Notre Dame is a great indoor team.

[Note: the Northwestern/Stanford match was played outdoors.]

Did you overlap with any of these players? 

No, the seniors this year came in right after I finished. 

So you helped recruit them? 

I certainly met them when they were coming on their recruiting trips when I was a senior. I’ve done my best to keep up with the guys on the team. And once a Stanford Cardinal, always a Stanford Cardinal. 

Nice seeing Nolan get the clinch? 

Yeah, it was great to see. He’s a senior, came out, clinched both singles and doubles points. I’m just so happy for him, playing excellent tennis, staying calm out there and really had a lot of chances throughout the second set. He didn’t quite get them but just hung tough. The team played really hard today, competed tough. 

Thanks a lot. 

Thank you.

For more Bradley, On the Rise contributor Beau Treyz had a wide ranging interview with him last summer. Enjoy! http://beautreyz.podbean.com/e/episode-15-steadily-climbing/