About a month ago, Clay Thompson lost in the first round of the ITA Men’s All-American Championships.
Then, only after several rounds of convincing from his coaches, Thompson reluctantly agreed to play in the tournament’s back draw, a bracket for players who lost in the first round.
However, the senior player rallied from his early loss and went on to win the consolation draw, subsequently earning a spot in last weekend’s USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. – one of the major tournaments of the season.
“I was just happy to get in and qualify,” Thompson said. “I was excited I got to go to New York for the first time.”
Even after being deemed the tournament’s sixth seed after an impressive fall, Thompson said he thought he was a long shot to win it all.
“I was just hoping to get past the first round so I didn’t have to play consolation again,” he said.
But following five rounds of straight-set wins – including an upset win over the tournament’s second seed – on Friday, Thompson found himself the winner of the tournament’s singles title, not the consolation draw.
“It’s probably Clay’s best effort over a five- or six-match period – against absolutely top guys each and every day,” said coach Billy Martin.
“It just shows that he’s really matured and improved his game. I think he’s worked harder this weekend than he’s really ever worked before,” Martin said.
While Thompson was sparring for the overall title, junior Marcos Giron was emulating the performance that brought his senior teammate to New York. Giron turned a first-round loss into a consolation title, and with it, UCLA took first in both the main and consolation singles draws. And although Thompson earned the more prestigious win, it was Giron who took on the tournament’s top seed to earn his title.
“(Giron and I) were both a little disappointed that he didn’t do better in the main draw, but I was proud of him for coming back strong. By the end of the tournament, I think he was really playing his best tennis,” Martin said.
Meanwhile, Giron’s third-seeded doubles team with freshman Mackenzie McDonald was not quite as successful. The duo dropped its first match in the main draw and fell in the finals of the second-round doubles consolation draw. Nevertheless, Giron said he has hope for the future of this team.
“We unfortunately didn’t do well at the beginning – we played sloppily,” he said. “But overall, we both play well together and complement each other’s games. We just need to clean it up.”
The Flushing Meadows tournament marked the Bruins’ last of the fall. Now the team will turn its attention to the spring, where it will look to make up for last year’s narrow loss in the NCAA title match.
Since a handful of Bruins took home either consolation or main-draw tournament titles over the course of the fall, Giron said he’s optimistic.
“It’s good for the Bruins to see that we have some of the best collegiate players in the nation, and Clay’s was an impressive win,” Giron said.