Maxime Cressy gets by with a little help from his friends

Maxime Cressy traveled alone to Melbourne for the 2021 Australian Open, not wanting to break a winning routine after successfully qualifying in Qatar. But the Paris-born American is still surrounded by family and friends—albeit virtually, usually via FaceTime.

“I’m very grateful that technology exists,” he said with a smile, in an interview with USTA.com from his Melbourne hotel room.

The 23-year-old was in the process of finding a new coach ahead of the 2021 season, eventually landing with an old friend from Paris. Cressy’s outlook on his coaching search says a lot about the player as a person.

“I usually stick to coaches who have helped me from the very beginning,” he explained. “These are the people I am in contact with—the ones I trust the most, the ones that have been there in the tough times, the good times, and have always been there for me. It’s not easy finding a coach these days that is not opportunistic.

“For me, I do like to stick to my roots. It’s more about confidence and positive energy than anything else.”

That attitude extends to his business interests as well. His mother serves as his manager, overseeing finances and potential sponsorship opportunities. And his brother will be managing his social media presence this year.

“My family is going to be taking care of me,” he said.  

Based on Cressy’s recent success, his support team will have their hands full in the coming months. After reaching an ATP career-high of No. 157 in September, he now sits at No. 171, poised for a big 2021.

He made his Grand Slam debut at the 2020 US Open, reaching the second round as a wild card before giving No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas all he could handle in Arthur Ashe Stadium in Round 2. Now, he’s earned his way into the 2021 Australian Open, qualifying in Qatar behind two come-from-behind, three-set victories.

His performance in New York left an impression on the Greek.

"I had a lot of difficulties returning his serve,” Tsitsipas said after their meeting. “His game is very difficult to read. He has a very good serve-and-volley game. You don’t get to play against those players very often. You have to adjust."

Cressy, who forced a first-set tiebreak before falling, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4, called the experience an “enriching” one.

“It exposed me to the level of Top 10 players, so now I have a clear idea of where I stand with respect to that level,” he reflected. “It really helped with my self-belief.

“I think that my unique style of game could be dangerous against anybody, because they’re not really ready to play someone like me,” he continued. Tsitsipas, for example, practiced with a doubles player prior to their meeting, to help him prepare to face his opponent’s net-rushing game.

Of course, Cressy’s initial success came largely in doubles, where he has 13 ITF titles as a pro and won the NCAA doubles title (with Keegan Smith) to close out his standout four-year run at UCLA. As a freshman at UCLA, he was not a regular singles starter during the 2015-16 season.

At that time, his long-term goal was to play No. 1 singles for UCLA. He had no plans for a professional tennis career, until success at the ITF level opened the door to that possibility. He has since won 13 ITF doubles titles, but recent solo success has gradually led him to define himself as singles player. Now, his new goal is to become world No. 1.    

“I’ve managed to build a mindset that I really want to be a singles player, and doubles can wait,” he said. “I’ve developed that mentality of really investing all of my time for my singles career. I’m mostly focusing on singles and right now I’m considering myself as a singles player who really wants to reach the top.”

Ahead of the 2021 Australian Open, Cressy was one of the 72 players in hotel-room quarantine after traveling to Australia. He spent the time doing a variety of off-court work: cardio with a stationary bike and jump rope, agility with water bottles serving as cones, mobility and strength work with bands, and mediation and visualization exercises.

“I’m the kind of player who spends a lot of time outside the court… my stretching, doing my warm-up,” he said. “This quarantine time is not really super hard for me—I think not as hard as other players—because I do spend a lot of time off the court on my body.”

The biggest problem for the 6-foot-6 bomber: “I can’t serve because I’m too tall,” he said with a rueful smile. “I tried to serve on my knees but my technique doesn’t allow me to serve on my knees.

The serve is really the shot I love the most, so it’s annoying that I have to put that on hold.”

After 14 days of hard quarantine, Cressy had three days to prepare for an AO tune-up tournament. After easing himself back onto the court, he faced Pierre-Hugues Herbert, another player whose initial success came in doubles. Cressy dropped that match in three tight sets, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, and now sets his site on the main event.

He will face Japan’s Taro Daniel, a lucky loser, in Round 1. Should he advance, a second Top-10 encounter could await, with world No. 7 and US Open finalist Alex Zverev potentially lurking in Round 2.