Udvardy banking on lucky breakfast to fuel US Open ambitions
With heavy rain in New York meaning no play was possible on day three of the US Open Junior Championships, itftennis's roving reporter Michael J. Lewis did the rounds in a bid to unearth some untold stories and hidden gems.
There is no scientific proof that a tennis player’s superstitions directly translate into on-court success. Equally, there’s no proof that it doesn’t. At least, that’s what Hungarian junior star Luca Udvardy thinks.
The No. 11 seed here at the US Open Junior Championships has a ritual that she employs before every big event: she eats the same breakfast each day for a week leading up to her first match, then eats the same first meal of the day each day of that tournament.
At Wimbledon, when Udvardy reached the final before losing to Liv Hovde of the United States, the 16-year-old's breakfast consisted of two eggs, potatoes, tomatoes and a side of toast with butter and honey.
Here in New York, Hungary's Udvardy has decided to go with a ham, egg and cheese sandwich with a glass of orange juice.
“It’s a routine for me that keeps me settled,” said Udvardy, as heavy rain washed out all juniors play on day three in New York. “It usually is always something with eggs, sometimes more vegetables or more meat, it depends on how I’m feeling. I also try to get it from the same place every time.”
Whatever Udvardy has been eating, it has been paying off. After her six wins at Wimbledon propelled her to the final, she’s now up to No. 16 in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings, and had an impressive first-round win here Sunday.
LANDALUCE A SECRET RAP STAR
Rising Spanish youngster Martin Landaluce is in love with tennis, like everyone here. But his passion for music might be even greater.
“I would listen to music 24-7 if I could, that’s how much I love it,” the No. 5 seed said. “I love everything: rock, Spanish music, but my favourite is reggaeton.”
Landaluce, who has won five junior titles this year, said he also really loves rap, especially Eminem. And with his blonde locks, he does look a little like the Detroit wordsmith.
“I don’t write music, I just like to freestyle rap, whenever I can,” he added.
Safe to say if he wins the title here, he’ll have lots of material for new songs.
SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR
American Michael Zheng, the No. 16 seed, came as close as you could to being a Junior Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon in July. The 18-year-old and Columbia University freshman was up a break in both the first and second sets in the SW19 final against Croatia’s Mili Poljicak, but relinquished the lead in each, losing two tiebreaks 7-6(2) and 7-6(3).
When a match is lost in such fashion, there are many ways it could be viewed and processed.
“I was sad for a couple days, but I was fine,” Zheng said. “There were a couple of things I needed to improve upon, so it was just back to work. I had to have short-term memory, but it’s not easy.
“But I got a lot of confidence from that experience, making the finals. I am pretty confident I can make a deep run here.”
ITF/ATP/WTA EDUCATION SESSION
Last Saturday, the day before the US Open Junior Championships started, all junior players were treated to an ITF/ATP/WTA-led education session which focussed on hydration and nutrition.
As part of a Q&A, professional players Robert Farah and Anna Tatishvili spoke about the importance of pre-match consumption of fluids and what to eat and drink after a match. Udvardy felt it was eye-opening.
“I had no idea chocolate milk was such a good thing for you to have after a match,” she said with a laugh. “I learned good things, and it was better that I could ask the players how they deal with different situations, and it’s always helpful because they’ve been in every situation.
“And peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! I did not know about that either.”