Mitchell Krueger: From watching US Open at home to surging aged 30

On 16 August, three days before qualifying at the US Open began, Mitchell Krueger stood on a nearly empty set of practice courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with his 15-month-old daughter Camille. The biggest tennis-only stadium in the world, Arthur Ashe Stadium, was just metres away. International superstars like 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and four-time Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz were yet to arrive and take over those courts.

But Krueger has made his own mark at the season’s final major. The 30-year-old qualifier on Monday defeated French qualifier Hugo Grenier 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the second round at Flushing Meadows.

It is the American’s 30th major — combining qualifying attempts and main draw appearances — and just the second time he has advanced to the second round of the main draw.

“The first emotion was definitely relief. It was a tough, long battle. It was pushing almost four hours, [we were] having a lot of long rallies, long points, and I definitely had to earn it,” Krueger told ATPTour.com. “But relief was definitely the first emotion. It’s obviously a massive achievement, because it's only the second Slam match I've ever won. So to do it in New York after qualifying also was extra special for sure.”

This is also Krueger’s first appearance at a major as a father. One of his goals this year was to put less pressure on himself tennis-wise, and looking after Camille has helped provide perspective.

“It's easy to get caught up in the past and have your results kind of reflecting who I am as a person, like ‘I'm a tennis player. I live and die by winning or losing’, but this gives me a second facade, I guess, that I can win or lose and I go after the match into dad mode,” Krueger said. “She’s only 15 months [old], so she doesn't know what's going on, she doesn't care whether I've won or lost. So definitely that perspective has helped a lot.”

Camille has only been to a handful of tournaments this year, but has enjoyed her time on site, whether she has realised it or not.

“The first thing that people ask me about is where she is and they want to see her, if they haven't met her yet, or even if they have, they want to see her,” Krueger said. “She’s definitely the life of the party wherever she goes. But she’s the most social baby I've ever seen. She waves to everyone and now she's running or walking and running a lot. She’s all over the place, you put her down, and she's just bouncing around to all the other people.”

While Camille has spent her father’s matches in the US Open nursery, Krueger has enjoyed one of the best tournaments of his career. He lost just one set in qualifying and now will play 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka to reach the third round of a major for the first time.

“Obviously it's uncharted territory for me. I've made the second round here once and lost second round,” Krueger said. “So these are huge, important matches. But I just try to take it one at a time, not get too ahead of myself as far as what's lying down the road.”

This time last year, Krueger was home in Dallas watching tennis. He had not made the cutoff for qualifying at Flushing Meadows. This is his first major since the 2023 Australian Open.

“That makes it even more special this year. I was close to getting into the US Open last year, [I was] one of the first Americans [who went] out [and] didn't get in,” Krueger said. “This year it was similar, I ended up being, I think, two or three [matches won] out of French [Open] and Wimbledon qualifying. So I was right there on the bubble too. For this to be the first time I have played in almost two full calendar years made it more important for me. Doing how I've done so far is just the icing on the cake.”

Krueger, who has a career-high No. 135 in the PIF ATP Rankings, was No. 293 as recently as the first week of March. If the American beats Lehecka on Wednesday, he will crack the Top 130 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Krueger has claimed two ATP Challenger Tour crowns in 2024.

“It sounds stupid, but I felt like I was playing some of the best tennis in my career last year. But on paper, I had probably the worst year in my career, as far as ranking was [concerned],” Krueger said. “I feel like this year speaks to that, because it's just a continuation, and the pieces are falling into place, and I've been really consistent with my results throughout the year on hard [court] and clay - not just one surface.

“I think I want to keep going, finish the year strong… Having big results like this just makes me hungrier for more at this level.”

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