Jared Donaldson, the kid from Chepachet who always wanted to play professional tennis, is in the third round of the U.S. Open in New York. Wait a minute. A Rhode Islander in the main draw of the U.S. Open? An Ocean Stater in the same tournament as No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Andy Murray, No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, No. 4 Rafael Nadal and the rest of the best tennis players in the world? Yes! And he’s in the third round? Yes, again.
Donaldson defeated No. 32 Viktor Troiki of Serbia, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3, on Thursday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows in Queens. On Tuesday he stunned David Goffin of Belgium, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-0. How big a victory was that? Goffin is ranked No. 14 and reached the quarterfinals at the French Open last May. The New York Times even published a story on the match and a photo of Donaldson on Page B9 of the New England Edition on Wednesday.
I do not profess to have an encyclopedic knowledge of Rhode Island tennis history, but I doubt any male from the Ocean State has reached the third round of the Open since pros started playing the event in 1968.
Donaldson, 19, is 6-foot-2 and 160 pounds now and ranks No. 122 on the men’s pro tour, his career best. That 122 may not impress you, but with more than 1,700 players having earned at least one computer point, he ranks in the top 7 percent in the world. Think about that for a minute.
These victories represent two steps on an incredible journey that began when he started serious training as a youngster. He was home schooled so he could practice. He went to Argentina in the winter while his friends went to middle school, and he played junior tournaments on clay in South America while they shoveled snow on asphalt in Foster and Glocester. His parents Courtney and Rebecca supported him every step of the way because playing pro tennis was his dream, and he was willing to work hard to make it come true.
In 2012 Donaldson he played for the U.S. Junior Davis Cup team in Mexico and returned to Rhode Island to join the Ponaganset High School team for the second half of the spring season. He was a freshman and wanted to enjoy the team experience, he told me at the time. A few small minds in the state raised a ruckus because he had not been with Ponaganset in the pre-season, but wiser minds in the school district and the Rhode Island Interscholastic League office concluded he was eligible. Donaldson dominated dual matches, qualified for the state tournament and in the final handed sophomore Matt Kuhar of Smithfield, the 2011 champion as a freshman, what would be the only loss of his high-school career. Donaldson resumed his quest and became one of a handful of promising American teens on the international tennis scene. He turned pro in 2014 and has earned about $500,000 in prize money.
Donaldson won three qualifying matches to get into the main draw of his third U.S. Open. He will play Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in the third round. Karlovic, the 2016 Tennis Hall of Fame champion in Newport, defeated Donald Young of the U.S. 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-4, in a match that ended Thursday night five minutes before midnight.
