Patrick Kypson's hard commit: Adding aggression to a game built on clay

"I think [growing up on clay] kind of contributed to my original game style, which actually is kind of what I'm trying to transition out of and be a little bit more aggressive and come forward more," he explained. "But it definitely gives me a really good base from the baseline with what I would like to think pretty good movement and fundamentals, so I think it was definitely a positive growing up on the clay for sure."

Another big part of Kypson's education—both on the court and in the classroom—came in his year at Texas A&M, where he was an All-American and the ITA National Rookie of the Year in 2018. At College Station, he roomed with current Top 30 player Arthur Rinderknech and was also teammates with Valentin Vacherot.

Those two players, who happen to be cousins, recently squared off in the Rolex Shanghai Masters final, with Vacherot stunning the tennis world—and their group chat of former A&M teammates—by winning the title with a ranking of No. 204. For Kypson, Vacherot's success is further proof of just how high the level is on the ATP Challenger Tour and the USTA Pro Circuit.

"I think the margins are as slim as they've ever been, in terms of level differential between consistent Challenger players and consistent tour-level players. But definitely, you know, those guys [on the ATP Tour] are able to do it slightly more consistently I would say. There's a reason they're on the tour and Challenger guys are in the Challenger level. I think it's slim margins, but that consistency is one of the things I think is the differential.

Kypson's immediate goal is to repeat his feat from this summer, when he won consecutive Challenger titles in Bogota (clay) and Little Rock, Ark. (hard). That run was part of an 18-match winning streak, including qualifiers.

This week, he takes a five-match winning run into another Challenger 100 event in Charlottesville, Va.

"You've got to understand that it's a new week and everyone's starting at zero again. But you've also got to try and find a way to use some of the momentum that you build up winning an event," Kypson said of the quick turnaround, with just one off day between events. "But for me, I'm pretty good at separating day by day, match by match. I'll just be looking to recover well physically and get back to playing the brand of tennis that has led me to be successful recently."