There is no place like home. For Americans Donald Young and John Isner, it has been ever so sweet at this year’s US Open, as the duo have led their nation’s charge – two men from the United States reaching the second week at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2012 US Open, when the now retired Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish achieved the feat.
Young has even gone so far as to strip all the credit from himself and give it to all the fans who have supported him at his home Slam.
“It was 90 percent you guys, 10 percent me,” said Young in an on-court interview after beating No. 22 Viktor Troicki to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam for the second time in his career; the other also came in New York, four years ago. “I couldn’t have picked a better place to do it.”
For Young in particular, who has fought back from two sets to none down twice already in the tournament, the home crowd has served as extra motivation to dig in and keep fighting.
“The crowd was awesome. They made the court feel like home, like 17 to me,” said Young after winning on the Grandstand, also adding that the Court 17 crowd helped him pull through his first two matches. “Those fans honestly are the reason I was able to win. If that match would have probably been somewhere else, we probably wouldn't be sitting here talking.”
The 26-year-old had only won three matches since April when he arrived in New York. But Flushing has turned into the perfect place to turn things around and join Isner, the American No. 1, in the second week.
“The women are holding it down pretty well. You have Serena, Venus, Madison, Sloane. You have a ton of really good girls,” said Young. “For the guys to get in there, it's definitely great.”
Isner himself has cruised through his first three matches at the Open without dropping a set. At his home Slam, the American has won 20 matches thus far in his career, more than double his victory count at any other major.
“I'm playing well. A lot of things are going well for me,” said Isner. “The fans are on my side, which helps so much.”
It certainly did not hurt to have the crowd support in 2011, when Isner made a run to the quarterfinals, his best Slam result to date.
“It's just fun to play out here. You know, it's our home Grand Slam, and the crowd's gonna support the Americans. That's what I felt like today,” said Isner after losing that quarterfinal match to Andy Murray. “It helped me a lot, and I think it could have helped me even more so had I been able to extend the match.”
On a whole the American men outperformed their Slam results from the rest of the year – they have won 10 matches thus far, with Young and Isner still going strong. But the women have used the comfort of their home Slam just the same
Varvara Lepchenko, for one, is into her first fourth round at the US Open, on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where she trains from time to time.
“It's great because I have so much support behind me. Today was incredible how people were pulling for me and really got into the match,” said Lepchenko after beating Mona Barthel in the third round. “That energy, it's nice to have.”
American women have already won 24 matches at this year’s tournament, with a quarter of the remaining field hailing from the United States. The fortnight is only halfway done, yet they are already well on their way to the 29 wins they amassed in Australia this year, taking 23 and 13 at Wimbledon and the French Open, respectively.
Even in losses, like the one Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered in the third round against compatriot Serena Williams, the support is what one could expect in a dream.
“I mean, that's just the best atmosphere you could dream of,” said Mattek-Sands. “It was awesome out there.”
