Despite opening round loss, Bradenton's Sekou Bangoura Jr. taking step by step approach

LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Becoming results-oriented can get taxing.

Heck, it'll cause downright frustration that the hard work in training sessions isn't yielding victories on the tennis court.

But for Bradenton's Sekou Bangoura Jr., each match, each tournament and each day is just another step in improving.

It's worked. This time last year, Bangoura was ranked No. 609 in the world. Now he's jumped the rankings to No. 283 -- that's 326 places better in one year.

"Even with some of the wins, you might not jump up as much as you thought," Bangoura said. "It's just a process. ... I've been around some of the top guys and I've been at some of the tournaments, and I've seen how it works. I see in the end, it's worth it."

Sure, racking up victories is important, too. But the 24-year-old is still adjusting to a new style that started a year ago and has contributed to his improved ranking.

"I think now trying to use my forehand a little more," Bangoura said. "Trying to not hit as many backhands. ... Just trying to dictate and win free points with my serve. ... It's trying to be a little more imposing, I guess is the word. My game growing up was built around speed and retrieving balls, and kind of just waiting on my opponent to make mistakes. Nowadays, I'm trying to decide the match with my own racquet."

On Monday, though, it didn't turn in his favor in the first round of the 2016 Joey Gratton Sarasota Open, an ATP Challenger Tour event, at the Lakewood Ranch Athletic and Tennis Center.

Bangoura's first-round opponent was Germany's Mischa Zverev, a 28-year-old who has reached the top 50 in the world in the past.

A left-hander, Zverev proved a difficult first test for Bangoura, a wild card entry.

Zverev rolled through in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, in a match that lasted a little more than an hour.

"I felt like I was pretty consistent and tried not to give him too many easy points," Zverev said. "And he had to work for every single point, and then he made a few unforced errors in big moments. And I just think that worked out for me pretty well."

Despite the setback, Bangoura's Sarasota Open isn't over. He's still slated to compete in doubles. For his first-round match against Zverev, he played in front of friends, local supporters, his dad -- who serves as his coach -- and his younger sister, M'Balia.

Sekou's younger sister is a senior at Out-of-Door Academy, where he attended before playing collegiately at the University of Florida.

While M'Balia, a defending high school state champion who is defending her crown in Central Florida this week, provides a decent training partner at times, Sekou said it's good to have a sibling that can take him back to reality a bit from the grind that pro tennis becomes.

"We make sure tennis talk is kept to a minimum," Sekou Bangoura said.

In addition, Monday also saw a huge upset in the first round when Noah Rubin defeated the tournament's top seed, Denis Kudla, in a three-set thriller in the night's fea

tured match. Rubin won 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) to advance to the second round.

Other first-round match winners included:Guilherme Clezar (7-5, 6-2 over Ryan Harrison), Nicolas Kicker (6-2, 6-1 over Jared Donaldson), Facundo Arguello (2-6, 6-2, 6-2 over Connor Smith) and Henri Laaksonen (7-6 (7-5), 6-1 over Ernesto Escobedo. In doubles first-round action, Bjorn Fratangelo and Tommy Paul turned back Giovanni Lapenti and Roberto Maytin in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.

Jason Dill, sports reporter, can be reached at 745-7017 or via email at jdill@bradenton.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jason__Dill and like his Facebook page at Jason Dill Bradenton Herald.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 12:11 AM with the headline "Despite opening round loss, Bradenton's Sekou Bangoura Jr. taking step by step approach ."