Tennis Acumen

NICK CHAPPELL: PLAYING AGAINST A FRIEND

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger.

They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Tennis Acumen:  Do you have any particular friends on tour, guys that you play doubles with or travel with?

Nick Chappell: I was just hanging out with one of the other TCU guys, Reese Stalder. A doubles guy. I'm very good friends with him. We actually weren't on the team together. Alex Rybakov is another former TCU guy. They actually came the year I graduated. But now since we've all been on tour for a couple of years, we've all become pretty good friends.

Tennis Acumen: What's it like playing against a friend? Does that make a difference to you?

Nick Chappell: We're all used to it at this point. So, I don't think it really affects anyone. Things are a little less chippy when you do play friends. Sometimes, when you when you play somebody you don't know, someone you're not friends with, things get a little more heated. When friends play against each other, it's a little more civil. I don't think anybody really wants to get into it with somebody who they're really good friends with. I can't say the same about somebody I don't know that well.

NICK CHAPPELL: LIFE OUTSIDE OF TENNIS

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger. They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Tennis Acumen: In your off time, what do you do to stay entertained?

Nick Chappell: I like to go to movies; I like to read, and I like listening to podcasts. I don't really watch many shows when I'm on the road. I like to do as much sightseeing as I can, but it’s not always possible if you do well in the tournament. There's a lot to do, taking care of your body and then scouting opponents while you're in the tournament. if I do have a couple of days off, I try to structure it so that I can have some time off to really go enjoy a new city. Some of the places I play in the USA, I know really well. I've been here probably 20 times. I grew up in Indianapolis, so I played tons of junior tournaments here. So, it's not like I'm super excited to see Columbus, although it was nice to go out. This is my birthday this week. So, when I went out for my birthday, even in a city that I have been to before, it’s nice just to go out and see some things.

Tennis Acumen: For you, it’s all about keeping it balanced.

Nick Chappell: Yes. I try to create some sort of balance.

Tennis Acumen: And you do it with some variety, with podcasts, reading and movies, foods, sightseeing. Sort of keeps you from losing the thrill.

Tennys Sandgren: PLAYING TO AN EMPTY HOUSE

Tennis Acumen had an exclusive interview with Tennys Sandgren at the Columbus, Ohio fall 2022 Challenger.  Here’s part of that conversation.

(photo credit: Karl Corbett)

TA: I got to tell you, two years ago, they did the Cincinnati tournament in New York.

Tennys Sandgren: That's right. Yes. With no audience.

TA: So, Brenda and I are sitting at home one night watching a match. The camera goes up into the stands. There's a raccoon walking across the bleachers. A raccoon gets to watch, but our tickets wouldn't get us in.

Tennys Sandgren: I played that tournament and got through the qualies, then lost to Novak in the second round. But that Cincy tournament, that was challenging, that was tough stuff, and it's tougher, much tougher, playing in a big stadium that's empty. Mm hmm. Tougher than playing in a park. So, it's a different atmosphere. Overall, any tournament, any audience, it’s not just for one week. You're playing week in, week out. You play every day, basically. And you're playing these futures matches with nobody in the stands. And it's so tough. And you got to stay motivated. You got to keep your focus. And you felt that during the COVID tour, when there were no crowds at the high-level pro matches. You see guys that normally wouldn't lose their focus and become disengaged, not up for it the same way that they were. Because it's just different playing in front of empty stadium. It's just different.

This interview is broken into four different ‘quick reads’ that will be posted here over time.

Nick Kyrgios: Photo

Rinky Hijikata: CROWD SUPPORT

Tennis Acumen at the  Columbus Fall Challenger 2022. And we are here with Rinky Hijikata, from Australia.

(photo credit: Adelaide Now)

Tennis Acumen: Rinky, players tell me that the crowd support at college tennis is incredible and the stands are almost empty when you come into Futures and Challengers, right? .

Rinky Hijikata: Yes, that's definitely tough to adjust to, you know? Yes, it's easy to get up for a college match because you've got hundreds of people there cheering you on or even harassing you a little bit. So, either way, it's, it's quite easy to get up for a college match. I feel like it's always high pressure. It  always means a lot. You want to represent your college well. You don't want to let your teammates down. When you come out here, especially in lower levels, it's not always easy to get yourself up for a match when there's two people in the crowd But I guess everyone's got to earn their stripes and once you get to higher levels there are the crowds and great atmospheres and that's where I want to get to, hopefully.

Tennis Acumen: Absolutely. Now, do crowds affect you or do you just block it out?

Rinky Hijikata: I play better with bigger crowds. I think that's always the way I've been wired. I love the bigger moments. I love the pressure situations. It's always been like that ever since I was a kid. You know, the more people that were there, the bigger the crowd, the bigger the moment, the more I enjoy it, the more I want to play. And, usually, the better I perform. So hopefully I can get there and play great tournaments week in and week out.

(This exclusive interview has generated seven ‘quick read’ excerpts, to be posted at tennisacumen.com over time.)