March 25, 2013
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by Weston Pletcher
Gonzales Austin is used to pressure. Playing an individual sport like tennis where one usually relies solely on himself, pressure is nothing new to the Miami native.
Austin–who goes by “A.J.”–is a sophomore for the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, but he has also played on a larger stage representing the country of Haiti in Davis Cup competition. Playing in a high-profile international tournament and taking on one of the toughest conferences in all of college tennis has presented Austin with pressure and challenges that he has faced head on.
Austin’s father, Gonzales Sr., was born in Haiti, while his mother, Susan, is a native of the Philippines. Given the opportunity to represent either country in international play, Austin chose to gain citizenship in Haiti, since it had been his father who started him playing tennis.
“I already knew a lot of Haitian tennis players, my old coach from Miami is Haitian,” Austin explained. “He actually turned out being the Davis Cup captain for Haiti. He helped get the whole citizenship process going. It’s cool to say I have dual citizenship.”
The Davis Cup began in 1900 and is now the world’s largest annual international team competition with 130 nations competing in 2013. Haiti first joined the tournament in 1988.
Austin is trying to help Haiti reach unchartered territory, especially in a country that has fallen on hard times and is not recognized as a tennis power.
“They’ve always loved tennis (in Haiti) and a lot of talented players come out of there, but it’s been tough for anyone to get a name out there for international recognition,” Austin said. “When we moved up in group play to Group 2, which means the money is bigger and the stage is bigger, they really enjoyed it and everyone started coming out to watch.”
Austin has competed in Davis Cup competition on two occasions that had very different outcomes.
“The first time I played, which was two years ago, before I got to Vanderbilt, we were in Puerto Rico and I was really nervous and really out of shape,” Austin said. “I think I was already winded in the third game and it was three out of five sets. After I committed to Vanderbilt, I started taking it a little easier with tennis because I just wanted to enjoy my senior year. So, I put on a little weight and I lost some of my fitness and I was down there playing a grinder against a guy who was running everything down and was super fit. It was pretty embarrassing. My first run in the Davis Cup was really bad.”
Austin would quickly redeem himself, recording the team’s lone point in the next round despite his lack of conditioning.
Last summer was his second go-round in the prestigious event and he would have a much better outing, winning all five of his singles matches. His play during that summer helped transition him to a great fall at Vanderbilt and his current terrific spring season.
Playing singles primarily in the No. 2 slot, Austin has helped the Commodores to a top 20 ranking and their best record in nearly 10 years. Vanderbilt earned a bid to host a regional for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003, and Austin was chosen to join junior Ryan Lipman at the NCAA Singles Championship.
Vanderbilt Head Coach Ian Duvenhage, now in his eighth season leading the Commodores, knows that international experience can only help the young student-athlete who was part of the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2011.
“It’s a pressure-packed environment when you play for your country and there are a lot of people who depend on you,” Duvenhage explained. “That can only help you grow as a competitor. There is a lot of pressure in college tennis also. The more matches you get to play under extreme pressure, the better adapted you become to deal with that pressure.”
Duvenhage has seen a great deal of development in a short amount of time by Austin.
“A.J. is a much better tennis player now than he was a year ago,” Duvenhage said. “His return of serve has improved a lot, his first and second serve have improved. I hope he gets the chance to play some more Davis Cup matches in the future because I think that can add to his experience and help him grow as a player.”
Austin missed a recent tie against Guatemala to stay in Nashville for Vanderbilt’s match against Kentucky. He would earn the first of four straight points for the Commodores in a 4-2 upset win over the eighth-ranked Wildcats. As Austin continues to develop, he looks forward to another chance to continue the progression of tennis in Haiti.
“I’ll get to play again, so we’ll see,” Austin said. “I feel the same way about playing for Vanderbilt as playing for country.”
