WASHINGTON — Quick: Name the American man who advanced the furthest at Wimbledon this year.
It wasn’t John Isner, the top-ranked American man. It wasn’t Sam Querrey or Jack Sock. No, the last American standing was 22-year-old, Arlington, Virginia-raised Denis Kudla, who is back from a disappointing, sickness-plagued 2014 and is playing the best tennis of his career.
Wimbledon was the culmination of a stretch of great grass court tennis, after making the finals of the Aegon Surbiton tournament, then winning Aegon Ilkley Trophy in consecutive weeks on grass leading into the major. And while Kudla is the rare American who feels most comfortable on the natural surface, he is carrying his momentum over to the hard court.
Following his run at the All England Club, Kudla came back to the states to play in the BB&T Open in Atlanta this past week. He knocked off Americans Ryan Harrison and Sock in a run all the way to the finals, before getting edged out by the eventual champion Isner 6-4, 6-2, 5-7 in the semifinals.
Kudla’s won 17 of his last 20 matches, reaching a career-high ranking of 79 heading into this week, and heading home.
“The last couple of months have been huge for me,” he said on Sunday at the Rock Creek Tennis Center. “I’ve completely turned a corner. I’ve hit my stride a bit in the rankings, which I knew I was capable of doing. I just didn’t know when it was going to happen.”
Kudla made a coaching change heading into the grass court season, switching to Billy Heiser, himself a successful junior player growing up. He’s helped Kudla expand the mental strength of his game without tampering with the physical side.
“I was able to kind of just take what he was telling me — not like it was anything new — just maybe in a different way,” Kudla said. “My mind processed it really well. I was able to convert it really quickly into my game in tournaments, into success.”
Kudla even got to be a small part of some championship success this weekend. He played a couple of early-season matches for the Washington Kastles, who won their fifth consecutive World Team Tennis title Sunday afternoon at the Smith Center. Kudla followed along on social media, thankful to have been a part of something successful in his hometown.
“Just to be able to be a part of that team was incredible,” he said. “It was something I always wanted to do, playing for Washington.”
He hopes it will also help him channel the extra excitement generated by playing in front of a home crowd this week. Kudla has never won a match at the Citi Open, something he looks to change starting Tuesday.
“I always wanted to perform here when I was younger, but I never lived up to expectations,” he said. “It was almost a tournament I started to dread a little bit.”
After missing the 2014 Citi Open following a bout of mono last year, Kudla comes home with his game in as good a place as he could ask for. With the talent level in the field, including top-five players like Andy Murray and potential third-round opponent Kei Nishikori, it’s tempting to think of this as a tune up for the U.S. Open next month in New York, a temptation Kudla is resisting.
“I’ve got to approach the U.S. Open as a new challenge completely,” he said. “Guys start gunning for you. I won’t be a nobody anymore. I’ve got to go there even more prepared than I was before.”
Nevertheless, with the way he’s played lately, he’s ready to make a run in his home country’s grand slam event.
“My tennis is there right now. I feel like if I were to show up at the Open right now, I’d go on a really good run.”
