(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Thirty seconds. "It only lasted about 30 seconds," but they have been Devin Britton's best moments of his life.
That is how long the pride and glory lasted for the 18-year-old Britton. The ecstasy of feeling victory after taking a break from Roger Federer in their first match of the 2009 US Open may have been ephemeral, but it engraved an eternal mark on the young mind.
This story is not about Federer but about Britton's journey from innocence to experience, even if it is not quite like William Blake's journey from golden chapel to pigsty.
And in innocence, truth is spoken in a rarity. Britton reveals the raw, inchoate impression of an encounter with the Swiss Maestro. I fancy how Federer would react if he were there in person, listening to Britton, an unrestrained soul recounting every detail of his impressions before, during, and after the match.
Before going into that moment of Britton's fugacious elation, let me introduce the future star of American tennis.
The Brandon, Miss., native first hit the court when was five years old.
"I watched my mom play league tennis, so the local pro asked me just to hit some balls," Britton said in a press conference Monday. "I started hitting and I started liking it. Kind of gradually got to be more and more and more. Kind of just went from there."
The child prodigy chose home schooling in the seventh grade so he could devote more time to his tennis career. He went on to join the University of Mississippi, popularly known as Ole Miss, located less than a three-hour drive from home.
He talked about his student-tennis schedule at Ole Miss.
"I started in January, and I went one semester, January to May," he said. "It went very well. You know, I think I grew a lot as a tennis player there, and also as a person. School, to balance the two, I think it takes a little bit. Helps you mentally a little bit, also. Ole Miss was a great school and definitely helped me very much for the professional level."
The serve-volley young player currently trains at the famous IMG/Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, where he is coached by Nick Bollettieri, David “Red” Amye, and Gabe Jaramillo.
Britton was the first-ever qualifying wild card to make a final at US Open juniors in 2008, where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov.
The former Rebel netter joined the U.S. Davis Cup Team as a practice partner earlier this year, right after losing to Jordan Cox at the Wimbledon juniors singles semifinal (2009).
After becoming the youngest player ever to capture the NCAA singles title in May 2009, Britton received a wild card into the US Open men's singles.
How did Britton react to having to play the 15-time Grand Slam champion at the Arthur Ashe?
"Kelly Wolf, I was speaking to Kelly Wolf on the phone, my agent," he said. "She had told me at 12:00 that I played Roger Federer, because I guess we were the first people to come up.
"I was just—I didn't really believe it at first. Thought it was just a bad joke. Now and then I started getting texts on my phone and I realized it was true. I was excited. I mean, I was excited at first, and then a little bit—just a little bummed. It's a tough opponent. You know, it was exciting. Not many people get that experience to play on Ashe."
Before Federer, the biggest names Britton had ever played were Baghdatis and Benjamin Becker.
Britton had never come to New York as a fan. Three years ago, he had tried to qualify for the US Open Juniors. Although he failed, he "just sat around for a couple of days and then went home."
Britton was lucky to hit on Ashe a couple of days before the match with Federer. On Saturday night, Britton won sort of lottery to practice with none other than Rafael Nadal.
Rafa "was looking for a hit and they were asking everybody, so I just kind of jumped in and said, I'll hit. So it worked out."
Yes, Devin Britton had played on Arthur Ashe before he played a formal match with Federer, but "it's not the same without anybody sitting in there."
It was overwhelming for Britton when he walked into the never-experienced setting of the stadium filled with thousand of people, loud noise, and blazing music.
The stadium looked 100 times bigger than he had ever played in front of.
"I was a little nervous. There was a lot of people out there and it's a big stadium, but my mind—I was trying to just think. I mean, wasn't much going on. Just thinking about how, like—it's a big stage. I was just a little nervous."
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