Just one point away from reaching the third round of the US Open before losing to Jakub Mensik, Tristan Schoolkate departs New York proud of his efforts and motivated for more.
New York, United States, 30 August 2024 | Matt Trollope
With a bit of distance between his second-round US Open loss and his subsequent media appearance, Tristan Schoolkate spoke with remarkable clarity about his journey in New York.
The 23-year-old from Western Australia had never competed in the main draw of a Grand Slam until this week, nor even contested Slam qualifying outside of Australia.
The last time he visited Flushing Meadows was for the junior tournament, five years ago.
But in the first two five-set matches of his career, he stunned the experienced Taro Daniel after trailing two-sets-to-love in round one, and came within a point of the third round before Jakub Mensik proved too tough.
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Having recovered, stretched and showered, Schoolkate discussed what had unfolded on Court 12 against Mensik, a rapidly improving Czech teenager.
Schoolkate won the first two sets, led 3-1 in the fourth – a set during which he earned two match points – and was also up an early break in the fifth, before going down 6-7(4) 2-6 6-2 7-6(5) 7-6[10-3].
He admitted Thursday night’s loss stung, but he could see the bigger picture.
“Fantastic. It’s a great first experience I think for me,” replied Schoolkate, when asked to summarise his first Grand Slam main-draw campaign.
“I wanted to compete my hardest, try my best and leave it all out there on the court, whatever round that the tournament finished, whether it was the first round or the final.
“I enjoyed my time on the court. I spent a fair bit of time on court in two matches, and physically I feel good right now.
“It obviously sucks to go down today, but I’m very happy with my efforts and proud of how far I came, and how hard I tried.”
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He harboured few regrets about the missed match points, which were on Mensik’s serve and which the Czech saved with composed, purposeful play.
On paper, Schoolkate – currently ranked 193rd – was never favoured against a player who in 2024 has soared more than 100 places to peak at world No.64.
“Credit to him; he’s obviously a good tennis player and he played those points very well and has a pretty good head on his…
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