24-year-old American star Maxime Cressy has been making the rounds on the tennis circuit as well as the community. The young star has shot up the rankings with a speed the likes of which is not too common. He is now through to the fourth round of the Australian Open 2022, the farthest he’s ever been at the major.

Just recently, Cressy faced down 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in their ATP 250 final at the Melbourne Summer Set. Moreover, he is set to battle World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in their fourth-round match at the Australian Open.

Even though on paper, Medvedev seems like a sure shot to win the match, the tension and excitement around this match are palpable. This is because Cressy has proven to be a remarkably talented player who can do wonders.

Here’s what you need to know about Cressy, the young talent who has been rather noticeable on the circuit.

Maxime Cressy personal statistics

At 198 centimeters, Maxime Cressy is a 6’6″ serve-and-volley style tennis player who prefers playing close to the net. He weighs 84 kilograms and was born in France. However, he received his collegiate education in America and plays for the USA.

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Towards the end of high school, Cressy had moved to the United States. This was in a bid to attack college-level scouts for his game. Cressy’s interest in tennis developed by watching his elder brother Jonathan’s tennis tournaments. Thus, he picked up the racket at the age of 4 itself.

Soon enough, Cressy was one of the most promising young athletes in the country, becoming a five-star recruit. Naturally, offers from several universities rolled in before Cressy chose to go with UCLA. In the words of his own former UCLA teammate, Maxime Cressy “was getting beat down” regularly at practice by all his teammates.

However, by the end of his college years, Maxime Cressy had become one of the better players on the circuit by sheer determination and hard work.

Collegiate and professional career leading up to Australian Open 2022

Cressy turned pro in 2019, almost three years ago. He passed out from the University of California in Los Angeles. However, even at UCLA, Cressy was never the go-to guy in the tennis lineup. In fact, he was at the bottom of the lineup, and worked his way up the collegiate ranks, just as he is doing in the ATP.

Maxime Cressy turned pro in 2019, and made his Grand Slam debut the subsequent year, at the 2020 US Open. Sadly, Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas knocked him out early in the second round. This put an end to the American’s first Grand Slam run.

In his very next Grand Slam, the 2021 Australian Open, he lost in the second round yet again, this time to German Alexander Zverev. Over several tournaments and a few big matches against the likes of Pablo Carreno Busta and Diego Schwartzman, Maxime Cressy finally cracked into the top 150 of the ATP singles rankings in November 2021.

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2022 began with Cressy reaching his very first ATP tour final, after defeating Reilly Opelka, Jaume Munar, and Grigor Dimitrov. Finally, he faced Spanish legend Rafael Nadal, who was playing his first ATP event after a six-month break, a comeback tournament for him.

Despite losing to the Spaniard, Cressy garnered a lot of attention and praise from the community, especially Nadal himself.

Maxime Cressy’s play style

Cressy, during his time putting in countless hours with UCLA coach Billy Martin, developed his own sense of style and playing. The 6’6″ star cultivated his game such that he now relies on the serve-and-volley style of play.

This certainly works to his advantage, as with his height, it is quite difficult to lob him at the net. This means he can frequently come close to the center of the court, taking opponents by surprise with quick returns. In fact, that is precisely what Maxime Cressy does. Paired with his athleticism, his style certainly has been paying dividends.

Moreover, from 2017 to 2021, Cressy had the highest percentage of points won at the net at the US Open, with a whopping 54.0 percent. Additionally, the percentage of points Cressy contacted whilst inside the baseline was over twice that of the US Open average of all players combined.

Even Rafael Nadal himself praised Maxime Cressy’s style of play, telling him that it would prevail, going forward.

WATCH THIS STORY: Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka, Andy Murray, Ashleigh Barty, and Other Tennis Stars to Look Out For at Australian Open 2022