Max Loving the Grind of Pro Tennis
11/7/2018 9:48:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Former Bear Tchoutakian up to No. 549 in the ATP World Rankings
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Since graduating from Baylor in May 2017 and starting his professional tennis career, Max Tchoutakian has traveled and seen the world, one tournament at a time.
Outside of his native country of France, he's gone to such remote places as Sintra, Portugal, Opava, Czech Republic, Bucharest, Romania, Hammamet, Tunisia and Antalya, Turkey. His passport is covered with stamps all across Europe.
"Traveling is nice, but it's tiring, and sometimes you get on a plane and then on trains, and you travel like six or seven hours a day, sometimes even more," said Tchoutakian, the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in 2015 when the Bears won the Big 12 regular-season title and lost to eventual national champion Virginia in the NCAA semifinals.
"It's different than college. In college, you're always enjoying it because you're with your teammates and your coaches and it's actually nice. You feel the good vibes as a team. But going alone to tournaments, sometimes it's scary, like it's a grind and pretty tough. But, I do like it."
Starting with zero ATP points and no ranking when he turned pro in June 2017, Tchoutakian has enjoyed enough success to see his world ranking climb to a career-best No. 549 in the world in the latest rankings after making the quarterfinals at the Waco Futures two weeks ago.
"The thing about Max is he's so passionate about it," said Baylor assistant coach Michael Woodson. "He has the same issues that everybody else has, but he looks at it differently. . . . He's only 24, so he knows he's still got a long way to go before he reaches his peak age and where he'll really be successful at the highest level."
In the 17 months since Tchoutakian left Baylor, Woodson has seen his confidence level continue to rise.
"He's playing better than I've ever seen him play," Woodson said. "I think when he can kind of come to grips that he's a really good player and relax in the bigger moments, then he's going to make a big push."
While he hasn't made it past the semifinals in singles, Tchoutakian won the doubles title in Uriaga, France, this summer and also reached the finals in Castelo Branco, Portugal, with fellow Frenchman Hugo Valjaques.
"The level is actually pretty high and everyone is hungry for wins and getting ATP points and having good prize money," he said. "(At the Uriaga tournament), we saved a match point in our first and second round and actually won the final in a super tiebreaker, so that was pretty tough. But, I was happy with that, a win is a win. So, I was pretty pumped. The Futures are tough, it's a grind."
It's still a long uphill climb to get there, but Tchoutakian's goal is to break into the top 250 and eventually play in qualifiers at the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, French and Australian Opens.
"Then, you can actually play and make a living out of it," he said, "because when you're ranked in the 500s, you don't make a living off of it. It's like you just survive with the prize money you get. I'm not making a living out of it right now, so the goal is to do that. You have to be top 250, top 200, so that you can play on the big stages.
"I trust the process and I trust myself. I think I can make it. I have the level to be top 200, it's just a matter of time, I guess, and getting better day after day. I think I can make it, so that's why I keep my head up and try hard and hope that I'm going to make it."
Among other Baylor players trying to make it on the pro level, John Peers leads the way with a doubles ranking of No. 23 in the world, while Julian Lenz (No. 553) and Juan Benitez (No. 643) are both below Tchoutakian in the singles rankings.
Because he's beaten guys at that level, Woodson said he "100 percent" believes that Tchoutakian can get up to the top 200.
"If you watch him on the court right now, you can tell that he doesn't believe he's ready to be there just yet," he said. "You give him a couple more years, and we're going to see him move into the top 200, I fully believe that. Ultimately, he's the one that's going to have to believe that. When he can flip that switch to understanding just how high of a level he can actually play at, and how important it is to just find ways to win when you're not at your best, then he will have great success."
Of his time at Baylor, Tchoutakian actually counts two losses as his greatest memories – falling to top-ranked Oklahoma, 4-3, "in front of I don't how many people, but that was insane"; and the 4-2 loss to Virginia in the 2015 NCAA semifinals, when he dropped a three-setter at No. 3 singles.
"It was tough to lose in the semis of the NCAAs, but it was such a good year," he said. "We lost that match, but that memory is still there."
Since ending his Baylor career with a loss to Texas in the Round of 16 in May 2017, Tchoutakian had not returned to the U.S. until a three-tournament Texas swing in Harlingen, Houston and Waco.
"I was actually emotional when I came back here to see all my teammates and the staff here, the coaches. Like, it's been a while since I came here," he said. "I really love being here, it's my second home."
Tchoutakian beat Virginia transfer Kyrylo Tsygura in the second round of the main draw of the Waco Futures and saw sophomores Roy Smith and Matias Soto make extended runs in the tournament.
"I watched all the guys, and they are tough," he said. "Brian Boland is a super coach, and Mike is doing an unbelievable job as well. . . . If you take it spot by spot, like from 1 to 6, they can all compete hard, especially at the bottom of the lineup. If you can put tough guys at 4, 5, 6, they are going to be able to get points and get the W each day, so I'm pretty pumped for them and hope they're going to be able to get some titles and do even better than our 2015 team."
Baylor Bear Insider
Since graduating from Baylor in May 2017 and starting his professional tennis career, Max Tchoutakian has traveled and seen the world, one tournament at a time.
Outside of his native country of France, he's gone to such remote places as Sintra, Portugal, Opava, Czech Republic, Bucharest, Romania, Hammamet, Tunisia and Antalya, Turkey. His passport is covered with stamps all across Europe.
"Traveling is nice, but it's tiring, and sometimes you get on a plane and then on trains, and you travel like six or seven hours a day, sometimes even more," said Tchoutakian, the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in 2015 when the Bears won the Big 12 regular-season title and lost to eventual national champion Virginia in the NCAA semifinals.
"It's different than college. In college, you're always enjoying it because you're with your teammates and your coaches and it's actually nice. You feel the good vibes as a team. But going alone to tournaments, sometimes it's scary, like it's a grind and pretty tough. But, I do like it."
Starting with zero ATP points and no ranking when he turned pro in June 2017, Tchoutakian has enjoyed enough success to see his world ranking climb to a career-best No. 549 in the world in the latest rankings after making the quarterfinals at the Waco Futures two weeks ago.
"The thing about Max is he's so passionate about it," said Baylor assistant coach Michael Woodson. "He has the same issues that everybody else has, but he looks at it differently. . . . He's only 24, so he knows he's still got a long way to go before he reaches his peak age and where he'll really be successful at the highest level."
In the 17 months since Tchoutakian left Baylor, Woodson has seen his confidence level continue to rise.
"He's playing better than I've ever seen him play," Woodson said. "I think when he can kind of come to grips that he's a really good player and relax in the bigger moments, then he's going to make a big push."
While he hasn't made it past the semifinals in singles, Tchoutakian won the doubles title in Uriaga, France, this summer and also reached the finals in Castelo Branco, Portugal, with fellow Frenchman Hugo Valjaques.
"The level is actually pretty high and everyone is hungry for wins and getting ATP points and having good prize money," he said. "(At the Uriaga tournament), we saved a match point in our first and second round and actually won the final in a super tiebreaker, so that was pretty tough. But, I was happy with that, a win is a win. So, I was pretty pumped. The Futures are tough, it's a grind."
It's still a long uphill climb to get there, but Tchoutakian's goal is to break into the top 250 and eventually play in qualifiers at the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, French and Australian Opens.
"Then, you can actually play and make a living out of it," he said, "because when you're ranked in the 500s, you don't make a living off of it. It's like you just survive with the prize money you get. I'm not making a living out of it right now, so the goal is to do that. You have to be top 250, top 200, so that you can play on the big stages.
"I trust the process and I trust myself. I think I can make it. I have the level to be top 200, it's just a matter of time, I guess, and getting better day after day. I think I can make it, so that's why I keep my head up and try hard and hope that I'm going to make it."
Among other Baylor players trying to make it on the pro level, John Peers leads the way with a doubles ranking of No. 23 in the world, while Julian Lenz (No. 553) and Juan Benitez (No. 643) are both below Tchoutakian in the singles rankings.
Because he's beaten guys at that level, Woodson said he "100 percent" believes that Tchoutakian can get up to the top 200.
"If you watch him on the court right now, you can tell that he doesn't believe he's ready to be there just yet," he said. "You give him a couple more years, and we're going to see him move into the top 200, I fully believe that. Ultimately, he's the one that's going to have to believe that. When he can flip that switch to understanding just how high of a level he can actually play at, and how important it is to just find ways to win when you're not at your best, then he will have great success."
Of his time at Baylor, Tchoutakian actually counts two losses as his greatest memories – falling to top-ranked Oklahoma, 4-3, "in front of I don't how many people, but that was insane"; and the 4-2 loss to Virginia in the 2015 NCAA semifinals, when he dropped a three-setter at No. 3 singles.
"It was tough to lose in the semis of the NCAAs, but it was such a good year," he said. "We lost that match, but that memory is still there."
Since ending his Baylor career with a loss to Texas in the Round of 16 in May 2017, Tchoutakian had not returned to the U.S. until a three-tournament Texas swing in Harlingen, Houston and Waco.
"I was actually emotional when I came back here to see all my teammates and the staff here, the coaches. Like, it's been a while since I came here," he said. "I really love being here, it's my second home."
Tchoutakian beat Virginia transfer Kyrylo Tsygura in the second round of the main draw of the Waco Futures and saw sophomores Roy Smith and Matias Soto make extended runs in the tournament.
"I watched all the guys, and they are tough," he said. "Brian Boland is a super coach, and Mike is doing an unbelievable job as well. . . . If you take it spot by spot, like from 1 to 6, they can all compete hard, especially at the bottom of the lineup. If you can put tough guys at 4, 5, 6, they are going to be able to get points and get the W each day, so I'm pretty pumped for them and hope they're going to be able to get some titles and do even better than our 2015 team."
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