Promising youngster Robin Montgomery wants to make the most of the US Open wild card

Robin Montgomery was out after training one day in early August at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland when he received the text. It was just a few words, but they changed her life in an instant:

“You have the joker.”

The 15-year-old was incredulous but managed to read it to everyone around him – including Frances Tiafoe, the 2019 Australian Open ATP and quarter-finals champion – many of whom she had known and trained with for most of the season. his life. Everyone immediately shared his excitement.

“We’re all crazy,” Montgomery said recently. “I think I’m almost in tears of joy because I didn’t see it happen. It was very surreal.”

Tiafoe, 22, said he too couldn’t believe what he was hearing. So much so that he asked her to read the news to him several times. When the shock subsided, the celebration began.

“I’ve been racing all over the club, and I’ve told every single manager and everyone there,” said Tiafoe. “It was so funny, I honestly felt like I got the joker. I think of her as my little sister: we talk all the time and we are very close. Its success makes me very happy. “

While Montgomery has dreamed of competing in the US Open since he started playing at age 6, he certainly didn’t expect to be in the main draw at this point in his young career. But with the tournament eliminating qualifying rounds and the number of retired players this year, the 128-player field is perhaps more open than ever. Along with Kim Clijsters, the four-time senior champion out of retirement, and former American teen phenomenon CiCi Bellis, Montgomery landed one of eight wild cards and is the youngest player in this year’s event.

Ranked # 597 in the world, Montgomery wasn’t the obvious choice to receive the honor, but she had been on a rapidly ascending trajectory before the coronavirus pandemic that disrupted professional tennis – and almost every other sport – in March. He knew there was a small chance that the United States Tennis Association would include a young player in its selection, but he didn’t want to have any hope, so he kept training and did his best to ignore the rumors.

And it is clear that it is not yet fully absorbed.

“I mean, I still feel a little overwhelmed,” she said. “But I’m really excited. I’ve wanted it since I was a kid, and now here I am.”

Montgomery was starting to make a name for himself among the insiders before the season was suspended. He helped lead the US Fed Cup junior team to a title last September, and then won the prestigious Orange Bowl tournament title, joining previous winners Sofia Kenin, Bianca Andreescu and Coco Gauff, in December. He made a run to the quarterfinals in the Australian Open junior draw the following month. And in March, he won his first professional title at an ITF event in Las Vegas. She is still a little shocked by her success.

“When I look back [at all the victories], I’m still pretty speechless, “Montgomery said.” The moments where I won happened so quickly. But I hope these are small milestones in my career, or maybe stepping stones, and I’m excited to grow them into bigger moments and titles. “

However, it is relatively unknown to many, and its inclusion of wildcards has raised some surprises from casual fans. If they wanted to look it up on Wikipedia, they were out of luck. He doesn’t even have a voice there yet. But that anonymity probably won’t last long.

Montgomery officially announced that he was turning pro, thus giving up his NCAA eligibility earlier this month, and signed with talent agency IMG. She, and everyone around her, is hoping she’ll be the next teen to have a Cinderella run at a major, just like Gauff, her longtime friend who made it to round three of last year’s US Open and screenings. round four at Wimbledon in 2019 and at the Australian Open earlier this year, becoming a fan favorite along the way.

Montgomery, like so many others, was inspired by Gauff’s meteoric rise.

“Hopefully, I’m next,” he said. “I hope to be next [rising teenager] and being able to see Coco do what she did was amazing. I am friends with her and have always told her that what she is doing is absolutely phenomenal. And knowing that I now have a chance to join her is even better. “

Gauff appears to agree. A frequent commenter on Montgomery’s Instagram page, the 16-year-old wrote, “Big things coming soon for you b” earlier this year after their stay in Melbourne.

Montgomery began her Queens career with a qualifying defeat to Sorana Cirstea, 6-1, 6-4, during the Western & Southern Open, but she won’t be put off. He turns 16 on September 5, during the third round of the US Open, and he would like to celebrate his birthday in New York if possible.

She knows it will be a challenge, but she said she feels ready. Montgomery will face number 23 seeded Yulia Putintseva in the first round on Monday. Tiafoe said he hopes to be there to cheer her on and believes the lack of fans could actually benefit her.

“I think it might be a bonus for her because we’re not really feeling the pressure right now in the same way,” she said. “I remember the first year I played here [as a 17-year-old in 2015] and I was playing Viktor Troicki, the No. 22, on Court 11 and it was super full. It was a great experience, but you feel that nervous energy and it’s hard. But I think now, with no one there, she won’t even feel like she’s playing the Open, so I think this will help and keep her calm. “

Montgomery counts Venus and Serena Williams among his heroes and cannot believe he is playing in a Grand Slam with them. While she wouldn’t face either of them until the final, consider the legendary sisters, who won a total of 10 major singles titles before Montgomery’s birth in 2004, as role models on and off the pitch.

He also recently had a chance to practice with Venus and left an impression on Williams’ older sister.

“It looks like it has a bright future,” Venus said during a press conference at the recent Top Seed Open in Kentucky. “She has the shots, the natural power. All it takes is just time and perseverance. It’s all in the cards for her.”

But while it looks like Montgomery is destined for great things on the tennis tour, she’s trying not to get too far ahead of herself and tackling one match at a time, trying to enjoy every moment. Not to mention, it has its duties to keep her grounded. His first year of high school, through an online program, will begin on Monday, the first day of play at the US Open. He said his mom emailed his teachers to let them know that he probably wouldn’t log in that day, but would do his best to get his job done during the tournament.

“If you had told me two years ago that I would now be playing in the main draw of the US Open, I would have said, ‘Ah, you’re fun,'” Montgomery said. “It’s definitely different from what I imagined with these conditions, but honestly, I could never have imagined playing the US Open this year under any conditions. Honestly, I’m really honored to participate and have the chance to compete against the best players now. .

“I know I’ve just turned pro, and the US Open is a great way to start anyone’s career, so I’m just trying to get a feel for everything and get experience. I know I can’t expect results to get in right away because everyone’s path is different. So I’m going to go out every game and compete like it’s my last game and show a lot of pride and perseverance. And I hope to make a name for myself as I go. “