Donald Young: American Tennis Player Ends Historic Losing Streak

American tennis player Donald Young ended his 17-match losing streak on Wednesday by defeating Argentina's Leonardo Mayer 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the Winston-Salem Open.

The record for most consecutive matches lost in the Open era is 21, which was set by Vince Spadea in 2000.

Many people would have given up, or would have allowed the constant agony of defeat to break them mentally, but Young kept working hard. He showed great determination throughout his losing streak, and thankfully, his perseverance was rewarded. 

However, Young's winning ways did not last too long. He was defeated in his next match in Winston-Salem.

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Donald Young's new winning streak ends at 1, falling in R2 6-2, 6-3 to Feliciano Lopez in Winston-Salem.

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) August 21, 2012"

Young, who has five singles and two doubles titles on his resume, will look to duplicate his impressive U.S. Open performance from last year over the next few weeks.

He advanced to the fourth round at the U.S. Open last year and will enter this year's tournament with a little more confidence than he would have if his lengthy losing streak was still intact.

At just 23 years old, Young has a lot of professional tennis left in his career. It would be a great story if he could win a match or two at the U.S. Open and get his career headed in the right direction.

Young has the talent to win matches regularly and just needs to have the composure and mental strength that is also needed to win consistently.