Rinky Hijikata absorbed an essential lesson on his first full season on the tennis circuit in 2022 – he realized to lose.
Losing is clearly not one thing the 22-year-old from Sydney needs to endure, however as he informed AAP, “when you play a full schedule, playing 25-30 weeks of the year, you’re going to lose a lot.
“There’s just one winner each week. In juniors, in the event you’re a stand-out participant, you possibly can win lots, however while you get to this stage, you are not going to win most weeks.
“Learning how to lose is the biggest thing I learned last year. Just being able to handle the losses, learn from the losses, not take it too hard and not let it spiral.
“You’ve received to be an unbelievable loser to be a tennis participant. Obviously, you are striving for these good weeks, however they do not occur on a regular basis. Being capable of reset each week is the large factor.”
Hijikata was a “fortunate loser” this week, getting into the main draw at s’Hertogenbosh ATP 250 under that tag after being beaten in qualifying.
He promptly won twice to reach the quarter-finals in which he faces Mackenzie MacDonald on Friday.
That followed the Surbiton Challenger, where he also reached the last eight. A third good run on the grass at Ilkley next week and he will be perfectly set up for the task of qualifying for Wimbledon.
Last year, Hijikata lost in the final round of qualifying but this time he should be seeded and hopes to progress to debut at the championships.
If he does, whoever he draws, he should not be overawed. Last year, on his grand slam bow, he came up against Rafael Nadal in New York – and won the opening set.
The four-time US Open winner came back to win 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-3 but Hijikata had made his mark.
He gained his first win at a major in the Australian Open in January, beating German Yannick Hanfmann in Hijikata’s maiden five-setter, before losing to then-world No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“It’s been a fairly hectic welcome to grand slam essential draw tennis,” he said, “and it has been fairly cool.
“[Playing Nadal] was crazy, especially in the US Open on centre court [Arthur Ashe]. That stadium’s like nothing else to have played in front of, a stadium you dream of playing when you’re a kid.”
The expertise gained in that match, and a tour match towards Daniil Medvedev just a few weeks earlier was invaluable, he stated.
“Being exposed to that level, seeing how they play, how they go about things. My level’s there in moments. It’s about being able to play at that high level for four or five hours. I’m just hoping to build on that and keep playing bigger and bigger matches.”
Currently ranked 133, Hijikata remains to be discovering his method on tour, new sufficient to need to slot in some sightseeing, but in addition flying financial system. At least his “superpower” is having the ability to sleep on planes.
“I’m pretty much out every time before we take off,” he says. “I actually struggle to stay awake. Being able to clock off is pretty good.”
If he goals of lifting trophies whereas airborne, that is not simply fantasy. In January he and fellow Aussie Jason Kubler received their dwelling grand slam males’s doubles title, a triumph Hijikata says he would not “know if it’s sunk in yet”.
The duo will pair up once more at Wimbledon when Hijikata hopes to be becoming their matches round singles commitments.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
