Steve Darcis defeats American Donald Young in First Round of 2012 BNP Paribas

Written by: Staff on 10th March 2012

Steve Darcis defeats American Donald Young in First Round of 2012 BNP Paribas |

Despite a rousing come-back from Donald Young late in the third set, Steve Darcis was able to squeak by Donald Young 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5) in a late night duel in desert. Errors plagued Young in the first set as Darcis put on a solid display of power and depth that kept the young American stifled. But Young fought back and caught a second wind in the 2nd set, constantly moving Darcis around with his heavy forehand and bullet-like backhand. The third set was a tight affair that showcased both players’ body language looking desperate and dazed.

When Young won the 2nd set, bringing Darcis to the net and causing him to dive after his winning passing shot, he had all the momentum at the beginning of the third set. As more and more fans filed into the court 8 stadium seating, the drama was building. An upsetting turn of events came for the Young camp in his first service game in the form of a very deep approach shot from Darcis. It appeared to be out but it was called in and caused Young to miss. Young challenged and the result came that the ball had barely grazed the back of the baseline, thus resulting in a break point chance for Darcis. Darcis seized the opportunity and his solid clay-court style game of heavy groundstrokes made Young commit the error again. At that point things looked grim for Young as he went down another break and found himself in a 0-4 hole.

That’s when Young put everything he had into his legs and started scrambling. High arching balls with massive amounts of topspin generated from his racket speed and Solinco tour bite string started to wear Darcis down. The very balanced Darcis was now sliding around near the back fence in vain attempts to stay in baseline points. By no means was Young out-hitting Darcis but it appeared he’d finally made the Belgian run out of gas. With the crowd firmly behind him, Young made a remarkable comeback to level the match and found himself with multiple break opportunities to go up 5-4. Unfortunately the break chances were squandered and Young couldn’t find the impetus to step into the court and play offensive tennis at the most critical times. Both players entered the tiebreak nervous as Darcis was showing signs of fatigue. Young went up 2-0 quickly before throwing in a costly double fault that brought Darcis back into the tiebreak. Tight play continued as Young donated 3 more points to go down 3-5. It was then that Darcis took advantage and clocked a 122mph first serve and followed it up with a whipping forehand winner down the line. Young was able to save two of the match points but on the third, committed an unforced error as Darcis was scrambling to get back into positioning.

It’s been a tough stretch for Young lately since the Australian Open (L. 2nd round) and hopefully he can find the form that brought him success at last year’s US Open. It’ll take a combination of physicality and commitment from him to be able to assert himself on his opponents by moving into the court more and taking more balls early. That way he can take time away from his opponent and allow himself to hit bigger and more penetrating shots.

Editors Note: 10sBalls.com will be following Donald Young to his next tournament, we are all going to cheer him on in his next match!

Topics: Donald Young, Steve Darcis