How 6'8" Damm is putting his heel to the ground
pAmerican a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/martin-damm/d0dt/overview'Martin Damm/a walked onto the practice court for his final training session before this year's grass-court swing. The 20-year-old was eagerly waiting to compete professionally on grass, the surface on which he beat a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carlos-alcaraz/a0e2/overview'Carlos Alcaraz/a at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a junior event in 2019./p
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But in an instant, Damm suffered a freak injury that kept him out of the game for three months. He tore two ligaments in his left ankle before the training session even began./p
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ldquo;I just stepped and next thing I know, Irsquo;m on the ground in crazy pain. It was brutal,rdquo; Damm told ATPTour.com at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/saint-tropez/9552/2024/results'Saint-Tropez Open/a, an ATP Challenger Tour 125 event. ldquo;I just stepped, I didnrsquo;t necessarily roll it or fall./p
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ldquo;I think something must have been bad in the ankle. It must have been getting close to it and it was just a matter of what day it was going to happen. I donrsquo;t think these things just happen out of nowhere. I couldnrsquo;t even put my heel down to the ground the first two weeks.rdquo;/p
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Before the injury, Damm was enjoying some of the best results of his career. He reached his first ATP Challenger Tour final in January and made a third-round run at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami two months later./p
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Now Damm is ldquo;getting used to trusting my ankle a little morerdquo; and aiming to find the level he was producing in the first half of the year./p
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The son of 40-time tour-level doubles titlist a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/martin-damm/d0dt/overview'Martin Damm/a, the Florida native has unique attributes that make him a tricky opponent. Turning 21 at the end of September, Damm stands tall at 6rsquo;8rdquo; and is left-handed./p
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ldquo;Not many players were or are like that. It definitely has its advantages and disadvantages. I think the great thing is that Irsquo;m lefty and the size. Hopefully my serve can get to a point where it's one of the best in the world,rdquo; Damm said./p
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ldquo;At the same time, the game has progressed so much the last few years, everyone is so good at hitting a tennis ball. So unfortunately itrsquo;s not only about the serve and how you hit the ball. The majority of it is the physical side, fitness, and the mental side of it as well. nbsp;/p
pldquo;I think itrsquo;s time to look past forehands, backhand and serves. Obviously itrsquo;s great to have that in the toolbox, but you have to be an absolute beast mentally and physically as well to compete with those guys.nbsp;I think thatrsquo;s something I need to improve the most in."/pp
pDamm has learned the importance of mental fortitude from his father, whose biggest career doubles title came at the 2006 a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a alongside a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/leander-paes/p269/overview'Leander Paes/a. The American has also been working with USTA mental performance coach Larry Lauer for seven years./p
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ldquo;[My dad] told me no matter how bad it gets, just keep working,rdquo; Damm said. ldquo;At the time, it might feel like career-ending losses but at the end of the day, itrsquo;s just one match and the season is so long. Keep your head down, keep working and know that the tough times will pass at some point./p
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ldquo;My dad and Larry say, lsquo;Just accept it, move on, keep working and tomorrow is a new dayrsquo;.rdquo;/p
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