Thursday, May 16, 1996
Sophomore Gimelstob rises to top after calming down on-court
anticsBy Mark Shapiro
Daily Bruin Staff
This time last year, he was the bad boy, the player that people
came out to watch in hopes that they would be witness to one of his
patented on-court outbursts. This season, Justin Gimelstob has
evolved into an athlete known for more for his talent than his
antics. Now, when fans make the trip out to the Los Angeles Tennis
Center, they come to see the top-ranked player in collegiate
tennis.
It’s been like night and day for Gimelstob, who came into UCLA
as a player who spent far too much time kicking balls, throwing
rackets and basically acting out when things didn’t go his way.
With his second and final season winding to a close, he has evolved
into a player who can focus his energy into simply winning matches
and playing consistently outstanding tennis.
"He’s improved on the weaknesses in his game and he matured
mentally as a young man," UCLA head coach Billy Martin said. "He’s
calmed down on the court and grown up. He’s always been a talent
but a little hot-blooded, which he needed to control."
With the trend in professional tennis for top-ranked juniors to
bypass college to go straight into the professional ranks, it was
surprising that Gimelstob even gave UCLA a chance. After winning
the under-12 national championship, Gimelstob became something of a
pet project for the United States Tennis Association, which gave
him the best coaching and every opportunity to excel.
With three years on the USTA national team and trips to junior
Grand Slam events under his belt, college looked like more of a
hindrance for Gimelstob. However, with all of his time focused on
becoming the next great American tennis player, Gimelstob had
denied himself the chance to grow up. As a teenager with the talent
to hold his own on the professional ranks but without the emotional
tools to deal with it, he made a choice that is becoming more and
more rare.
"I was about 17 and I was floundering in my game," Gimelstob
said. "I had sacrificed so much socially and emotionally, I felt
that I needed to go to school. Although my tennis was mature, at
17, emotionally, I wasn’t equipped to make tennis my life. I
thought that a couple years of school in a structured environment
would be good for me."
In his first year at UCLA, that immaturity showed itself more
than Gimelstob and the coaching staff would have liked. With
stalwart Robert Janecek holding down the No. 1 singles position,
Gimelstob was out of the spotlight of center court. He always
seemed to bring it back upon himself during matches  for
there was no more animated player on the team.
After completing his first season at UCLA, Gimelstob got the
chance to test the professional waters at the greatest tournament
on American soil, the U.S. Open. This time his talent left no one
hanging, as he won a thrilling five-set first-round match over
David Prinosil, a top fifty player, in front of legions of family
and friends.
"It was the most amazing feeling," Gimelstob said. "All my
friends and family were there and I’d never played in a grand slam
before. You go through so many things in a five-set match playing
against a world class player, it was just amazing."
After having had only one year to work with him, and seeing the
splash that he had made, Martin was afraid that Gimelstob would fly
the coop and play on the tour full time.
"After the U.S. Open I was concerned because he had gotten so
much media attention," Martin said. "But his parents were adamant
about his going to school another year."
There are few better proving grounds than the U.S. Open, but the
maturity that he had craved for so long guided Gimelstob to one of
the most important decisions he ever made. He said no to the
agents, the money and the glory, and succumbed to his conscience
and the wishes of his parents.
"I was playing well enough and I was around the allure of the
tour and everyone was so gung-ho on me so it was a tough time,"
Gimelstob said. "I still didn’t think I was mature enough and I
still had things that I wanted to work on."
When Gimelstob returned to school in the fall, he and Martin met
with John Wooden to give the budding tennis player some insights
into how to mellow out on the court and carry himself like a
professional.
"That was one of the primary reasons for me to come back,"
Gimelstob said. "In order for me to be professional, I couldn’t
conduct myself like that because I wouldn’t be successful and it
wasn’t the way that I wanted to be perceived."
"I’m never going to be laid back, I’m a type-A personality. I’m
always going to be on the intense side but it’s a matter of
channeling that energy positively."
The transformation was scary for the opposition as his play rose
to a level that the LATC hadn’t seen in some time. In the
increasingly rare instances where things didn’t go his way, the
usual tirades began to disappear. Certainly, there were a few in
each match, but not at the level they had been at before, not to
the point where his play fell apart. Now, it was his desire and
effort that was the focus.
"He’s realized that he can’t act immature like he had, he can’t
blow up like he had," Martin said. "It’s been great for him, all
the learning and maturing. For us it’s been important to have
Justin because his work ethic is just so outstanding. He’s so
motivated, so wanting to win and willing to pay the price for it
that he brought it to everyone’s attention."
Not only did Gimelstob chew up his opponents, he continued to
play in pro tournaments as an amateur during breaks in the team
schedule. As he notched more and more events under his belt, it
became more and more apparent that this was no flash in the pan.
When he reached the semifinals of the Scottsdale Open to boost his
ranking No. 139 in the world, questions as to why he didn’t just go
pro abounded.
"I had the exact opposite reaction this year and I think that is
what symbolized my emotional development" Gimelstob said. "I knew
that the reason that I was doing well was because of college,
playing so many matches and working on so many things, so I was
eager to get back into the situation and keep improving.
"I didn’t want my teammates to think that my priorities had
changed. The team means so much to me and I didn’t want them to
think that the pro tournaments meant more to me."
Now, as one of the emotional anchors on the team as well as the
No. 1 player, Gimelstob will help lead the Bruins in their chase
for a national title this weekend in Athens, Ga. For a player whose
next tournament will be Wimbledon, to be followed by an encore at
Flushing Meadows, the NCAA championship is still of great
significance to the UCLA sophomore.
"The NCAA team championship is really important to my career,"
Gimelstob said. "We’ve prepared and worked as hard as we could to
accomplish a goal. It’s as important as any other tournament that I
will play."
FRED HE/Daily Bruin
Maturity has allowed sophomore Justin Gimelstob to become the
No. 1 player in college tennis this year.