Tournament Feature
Preparation Leads to Ji's Gold Ball Breakthrough at 18 Clays
by Rhiannon Potkey, 21 July 2023
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Zhengqing “Jim” Ji cleaned out the Pedialyte section at the local CVS in Delray. He Googled for the nearest cryotherapy facility. He put in the conditioning work on the court and in the gym before he arrived.
Ji was ready to do anything necessary to win his first gold ball in one of his final chances as a junior. After reaching the semifinals at five Level 1s, Ji finally broke through.
Singles Champion Zhengqing “Jim” Ji
© Contributed Photo
The eighth-seeded Ji defeated No. 9 Cyrus Mahjoob 6-4, 6-1 to capture the singles title at the USTA Boys 18 National Clay Court Championships at the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Florida.
Along with the gold ball, Ji received a main draw wild card into the US Open Junior Championships.
“It feels surreal to finally win one of these,” Ji said. “It was a very tough week here. I heard the locals say this was probably the hottest week. Physically, this week was brutal. But I am happy I was able to recover after every match and grateful that everything went my way.”
Ji, a blue chip from San Diego, California who is heading to Yale in the fall, spent a lot of time in the unrelenting heat, playing a trio of three-set matches that extended to nearly four hours each.
Traveling to Clay Nationals was a bit of a last-minute decision for Ji. He had been participating in the SoCal Pro Series this summer.
“I was playing good tennis and playing very good matches against pro guys so I figured why not just come out here and see what I can do,” said Ji, who had three days of preparation on clay before his opening match. “I believed I had the abilities to make a deep run and hopefully get to where I am right now.”
Ji beat No. 33 Ian Mayew (Cary, North Carolina) 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 in the semifinals and Mahjoob, a five star recent graduate from Rockville, Maryland who has signed with Michigan, beat Joseph Phillips (Alpharetta, Georgia) 6-4, 6-4.
Ji didn’t need to stay on the court as long in the final against Mahjoob.
“I think I played a very disciplined match. Going into it, I knew Cyrus was an incredible player,” Ji said. “He is going to make me work every single point. He is super fast, super gritty and has a lot of energy on the court as well so I knew I had to play smart tennis and assert myself in the points.”
