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09/2/2022 10:47:00 AM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
When Georgia redshirt freshman set foot on the court Thursday in the first round of the U.S. Open men's doubles tournament, at the legendary Billy Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., he said he wasn't particularly nervous.
His first practice session earlier in the week on Arthur Ashe Stadium Court, with Andy Murray, the former world No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam champion, that was a different matter. Quinn had signed up to be a practice partner with a pro and Murray requested him — and they've hit more than once.
"I think I was more nervous the first time I walked out with Andy Murray for a practice session," Quinn said in a phone interview Thursday, following his first-round win with partner Nicholas Godsick, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, over the team of Hans Hach Verdugo and Nikoloz Basilashvili.
"Those moments were pretty nerve-wracking. I felt a lot of pressure to hit the ball exactly where he needed it. It actually was good for me because I've been feeling even better about my game since I started to hit with him."
Quinn is part of a strong contingent of current and former Georgia men's and women's tennis players making their presence felt at the Open. And in the stands are quite a few former Bulldogs and Georgia fans from Athens that made the trip up to the Big Apple.
"It's very rewarding to see all of the Georgia players out here," Diaz said. "It's fantastic. And it has also been great to see all of our former student-athletes here watching, as well as a number of Georgia fans from Athens," Georgia men's tennis coach said in a phone interview after watching courtside as Quinn advanced to the second round.
Quinn, who redshirted last spring and will make his Bulldog debut this fall, played on court 7 Thursday. It's a more intimate setting than the big stadium courts — nearly 30,000 have been packing into Ashe Stadium for Serena Williams' matches — and he said it felt a lot like being at Georgia's Henry Feild Stadium.
"It looks pretty similar in size and it really made me feel like I was back at school," said Quinn, who also played in the singles qualifying tournament and won his first-round match. "It was almost like I was on a practice day with some of the other guys. That really helped me be loose when I was a playing."
Thursday was a doubly good day for former Georgia women's All-American Ellen Perez (2005-07). The Australian is seeded in women's doubles (No. 10, with Nicole Melichar-Martinez) and mixed doubles (No. 7, with Michael Venus), and her teams won both of their opening-round matches in straight sets.
Perez is back in action in women's doubles on Friday, when she and Melichar-Martinez take on Reese Brantmeier and Clervie Ngounoue.
Another great former Bulldog, Jan Zielinski (2015-18), who got to the finals of the 2017 NCAA doubles tournament with partner Robert Loeb, has been rising up the doubles rankings fast in 2022. Zielinski, from Poland, entered the Open with a career-best doubles ranking of No. 42 in the world. Zielinski and partner Hugy Nys won their first-round match Thursday in straight sets, beating Jonny O'Mara and Fabrice Martin, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1.
Quinn and Zielinski were playing their first-round matches at the same time Thursday, and Diaz, courtside at Quinn's match, was trying to follow both matches at once. Diaz was "going a little cuckoo there," he said.
Watching courtside was one of Zielinski's teammates, Walker Duncan (2015-18). Another teammate, Eric Diaz (2012-15), the son of , is now an established juniors coach and working while at the Open. Also taking in the action at the Open Thursday were two former Georgia women's tennis teammates, Elizabeth (Alexander) Brinson (1988-89) and Lisa (Apanay) Enochs (1986-89).
Brinson not only played for women's coach , her daughter Caroline (2014-17), an All-American in 2017, did too. Enochs, a doubles All-American in 1988, is married to former men's tennis two-time All-American Stephen Enochs, who played on Georgia's 1987 NCAA title team.
No professional tournament in the world has more of a collegiate feel to it than the U.S. Open, said Georgia women's tennis associate head coach , who was traveling to New York on Thursday with freshman , who will play in the U.S. Open Junior Championships starting next week.
A big reason for that collegiate feel is the number of former college players that populate the singles and doubles draws. There are likely more former collegiates having success on the men's and women's tours now than there have been in more than 20 years.
"It's our home country's Slam, the U.S. Open, and I'll see people I played with and against in college," Bernstein said. "I'll see Eric Diaz, I'll see Steve Baldas, I'll see so many people I know through college tennis.
"I'm a college tennis coach but I'm also a college tennis fan, and I like the atmosphere that comes with it. The U.S. Open is as close to a college tennis atmosphere as you can get. There's always something rowdy going on out there and it's a fun place to be from the time the gates open to when they shut it down late at night."
Baldas (1995-98), a five-time All-American, has maintained close ties to the sport and is currently the CEO of W Sports and Media, a talent management agency. Another former Georgia student-athlete, and the First Lady of Georgia football, Mary Beth Smart, was part of small group of women from Athens that spent a couple of days at the tournament this week. Smart, the wife of football coach , played basketball for Georgia (1999-2003) and is now an avid tennis player.
Georgia's most accomplished tennis alumnus, John Isner (2004-07), playing in his 16th straight U.S. Open, saw his tournament cut short Wednesday. He fell late in his first-round win Tuesday and an MRI the next day revealed a fractured wrist, putting an end to the 2022 season for the ATP Tour's all-time leader in aces.
During his incredible Georgia career, Isner was a seven-time All-American, the 2005 NCAA doubles champion (with Antonio Ruiz), and as a senior he led the Bulldogs to an undefeated season and the 2007 NCAA championship.
Among the other former Bulldogs attending (or scheduled to attend) the U.S. Open this week are the twins Matias and Nicolas Boeker, who helped lead Georgia to the 2001 NCAA team title. Matias (2000-02) won the triple crown that year, also capturing the NCAA singles and doubles (with Travis Parrott) titles. Matias followed that by winning the NCAA singles title again in 2002, while Nicolas (2000-03) was an All-American in 2003.
Lourdes Carle (2019), who helped the Georgia women's team win the 2019 ITA National Indoor and reach the finals of the NCAA tournament, played in the Open singles qualifying tournament, reaching the second round.
Assistant Sports Communications Director is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
