McEnroe

NEWPORT — He has played the pro tennis tour since 2004, so it’s easy to forget that Donald Young is still a teenager trying to make it in a game dominated by men in their 20s.

Young, hyped by the USTA as a future star since he was 14, will turn 19 on July 23. He is maturing to the point that he can compete on the ATP Tour, although he acknowledges that he still has a way to go and will feel different when he is 20 or 22.

Young won his first-round match in the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships yesterday, defeating Korean qualifier Woong-Sun Jun, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. He is seeded sixth, the first time in his career he has been seeded in an ATP tournament. Ranked No. 93, he received a wild card into the main draw.

Young has gone through a lot since turning pro when most boys are trying to turn into high-schoolers.

“At first it was awesome, but then you start losing and you start getting bashed and talked about, it’s hard to deal with when you’re 14, 15, and you’re not used to that. You’re used to everybody praising you or being on your side. But I guess it comes with the territory and being out there and doing well. I don’t feel too bad about it now. . . . It was good experience, and I wouldn’t take it back.”

James Blake, who turned pro after two years at Harvard, has talked to Young about “staying focused and not getting too down on yourself. He’s done that a lot, and Patrick McEnroe has got on him a lot about it.”

McEnroe is the U.S. Davis Cup captain.

Young is the latest African-American trying to succeed in pro tennis but tries not to dwell on race.

“You have to play and act like you’re your own person, but definitely you have to still remember that and know who you are. I’ll never forget that, looking in the mirror every day,” he said.

Young had not won an ATP Tour match since April in Houston, so yesterday’s victory was sweet. Winning here is his main goal, and he is excited about being seeded.

“I feel if I play well, I’ll do well,” he said. “I’m not going to limit myself to a certain round. I’ll just keep it open.”

Qualifiers advance

Three qualifiers advanced yesterday. Brendan Evans of the United States defeated Paul Capdeville of Chile, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, Rohan Bopanna of India beat Kevin Kim of the United States, 6-3, 6-4, and Alexander Peya of Austria eliminated Philipp Petschner of Germany, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5. American Vincent Spadea advanced with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 triumph over Simon Stadler of Germany, and Mikhail Ledovskikh of Russia defeated Kristian Pless of Denmark, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Stick to the studio

Harry Cicma, the NBC10 sports reporter who played tennis at Classical and Rutgers, didn’t spare himself a blunt analysis when asked how his qualifying match went Saturday.

“I got smoked,” he said without hesitation, “but it was fun.”

Mark Stenning, chief executive of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, gave Cicma a wild card into the qualifying tournament. Cicma hits with local pros and plays a few New England tournaments, but that’s not quite the same as playing touring pros trying to qualify. Cicma lost, 6-0, 6-0, and was back at his day job yesterday, working his camera and interviewing players.

Tourney draws less players

Only 28 players instead of the customary 32 are in the draw here this week because of the Olympics next month. The Stuttgart tournament, scheduled in late July last year, was moved to this week, giving players four options instead of the three they have had for years the week after Wimbledon. In addition to Newport, the players had Gastaad, Switzerland, Bastad, Sweden, and Stuttgart, Germany, as choices. Newport is on grass, the other three on clay.

Newport, offering a purse of $385,000, is the least lucrative of the four. Bastad has a purse of 326,000 euros, or about $489,000; Gastaad 389,000 euros ($583,500) and Stuttgart 568,000 euros ($852,000). The monetary exchange rate is about 1.50 euros to $1.

The 28-man draw gave the top four seeds, Mardy Fish, Fabrice Santoro, Nicolas Mahut and Igor Kunitsyn byes into the second round.

Return of a champion

Three-time Hall of Fame champion Vijay Amritaj is in town to watch his son Prakesh play Joseph Sirianni of Australia today in a first-round match.

Vijay, one of the best players in the history of tennis in India, won when this tournament was an exhibition in 1976. He won 1980, its fourth year as a tour event, and again in 1984.

One other Indian has won this championship. Leander Paes prevailed in 1998.

mszostak@projo.com