Local girl Kristie Ahn’s U.S. Open run — just two miles from where she was born — came to an end on Monday. But it showed her budding tennis career doesn’t have to.
Ahn fell in the round of 16, with No. 25 Elise Mertens rolling 6-1, 6-1 at Louis Armstrong Stadium. But after Ahn spent a decade dealing with injuries and doubt, she’s backed winning her first match at a Grand Slam with a run that’s validated her call to stick with the sport.
Born in Flushing Hospital and living in tiny Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Ahn, 27, was a strong student who starred at Stanford. And while she got a wild card at the U.S. Open at just 16, she didn’t get back to the main draw of a Grand Slam again until earning her way to Wimbledon this year.
Over that 11-year span — with a spate of injuries evidenced by the heavy wrap on her left knee — her parents repeatedly encouraged her to put away the tennis racket and join a corporate racket. She told The Guardian “My dad was like, ‘So! This is a bit of a problem. How are you going to get into corporate America if you keep winning?’ ”
In a micro sense, the winning stopped Monday. Not shockingly, the 141st-ranked Ahn lost to the heavily favored Mertens. The result wasn’t a surprise, even if the margin was.
The bigger picture is that she’s shown putting off office work for another couple of years might be a good call. It just might be hard to see that picture on Monday after such a one-sided beating.
Ahn committed 25 unforced errors, including 14 in the second set alone as the match completely got away from her. She notched only nine winners all day. Meanwhile, Mertens had her way in a clean match with 17 winners and just 15 unforced errors herself.
Broken right away, Ahn fell behind 3-0 and down 15-30 on her own serve. She tried to fight back with a forehand winner down the line and fist pump to fire herself up. But she was thoroughly outmatched and totally outgunned.
After going on to drop the first set 6-1, Ahn lost by the same margin in the second.
“Thank you for everyone coming. I know I played an American, so sorry. I just tried to play my best game,” said Mertens, who will play the winner of Monday night’s round of 16 match between American qualifier Taylor Townsend and 15th-ranked Canadian teen Bianca Andreescu.
“I just play it match-by-match and try to improve every time. I try to invest in my game. It’s coming week-by-week, and I hope to go further than this. … You really have to focus each game. It’s never done. I just try to focus on my game and I’m really happy.”
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