Shintaro Mochizuki on taking on ‘the tall guys’

ATP Tour

Mochizuki on taking on ‘the tall guys’ and beers at the baseball

Japanese qualifier faces eighth seed De Minaur on Thursday at US Open

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Shintaro Mochizuki celebrates his first-round win against Hugo Gaston on Tuesday in New York. By Andy West

Shintaro Mochizuki is standing tall heading into the second round at the US Open.

The No. 112 in the PIF ATP Rankings has raced into the second round as a qualifier for the second consecutive major with a series of commanding performances in New York. Having notched his maiden Grand Slam main-draw win at Wimbledon in late June, Mochizuki on Tuesday raced past Hugo Gaston in straight sets at Flushing Meadows to book a showdown with eighth seed Alex de Minaur.

De Minaur is arguably the perfect role model for Mochizuki as he aims to push further up the PIF ATP Rankings. In an era where tall players with big serves seem to be thriving, the Australian has cracked the Top 10 without the natural advantages that many of his rivals enjoy. Relatively short for a tennis player at 6 feet, De Minaur relies on his lightning movement, elite fitness levels and competitive will to power his successes.

“He’s amazing,” the 5-foot-9 Mochizuki told ATPTour.com when asked what he thought of his second-round opponent. “I think he moves the best on Tour. But I see a lot of not-so-tall guys have also had success on the Tour. Kei [Nishikori], [Diego] Schwartzman — I saw him here this week. They’ve had amazing careers and that also makes me feel like I can also do it, but at the same time I feel it’s super tough to be at the top on this Tour.

“Especially now, when everybody hits so hard and everybody serves big. But I’m getting better and better, even against tall guys. For example, at Wimbledon against [Karen] Khachanov, where I almost won. I just do my best, that’s all I can do, and I want to keep doing it my whole career.”

The 22-year-old Mochizuki rallied from two sets down to defeat Giulio Zeppieri at Wimbledon and earn his first main-draw win at a major. The nature of his New York triumph against Gaston could hardly have been more different, and Mochizuki reflected it on a business-like manner in his post-match press conference.

“At Wimbledon I was very nervous because I didn’t have any wins at Grand Slams, so I wanted it so badly and I was very tight at the beginning,” he said. “Even if I see the score now, two sets down and I won 7-5 in the fifth, I’m still surprised. Today, I did well from the beginning so I’m happy, but a win is a win.”

Mochizuki is a former Wimbledon boys’ singles champion, but he also holds plenty of affection for New York through his passion for baseball. Although a keen New York Yankees fan, his love for the sport means he would have no qualms also dropping into Citi Field, home of the Yankees rival the New York Mets, which sits right next to Flushing Meadows.

“I went to Yankees Stadium two days ago. It was against the Red Sox, who have a Japanese guy in the team. I enjoy it a lot,” said Mochizuki. “I really want to go to a Mets game this week. They just came back yesterday to playing at home. Hopefully I can get to watch after the tournament.

“I used to play when I was very young, but now I just like watching. I want to drink a beer while watching baseball, but not right now!”

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