Tennis fans will soon be in for a real treat. Not only will tennis fans be able to watch the U.S. Open starting on August 31, but they can also watch the latest movie about the tennis world, Break Point. Tennis movie fans have been a traditionally, um, under-served audience and Break Point is the rare movie that takes us behind the scenes of the tennis world as two journeymen players try to hit the big time by qualifying for the doubles tournament at the U.S. Open.

In Break Point, Jimmy Price (Jeremy Sisto) is near the end of his career as a doubles tennis player. He decides to make one last ditch effort to revive his career  and convinces his childhood partner – his estranged brother Darren (David Walton), now a world weary substitute teacher – to team up with him. The mismatched pair, with the help of precocious 11-year-old named Barry (Joshua Rush), are forced to re-discover their game, both on the court and with each other. Break Point co-stars J.K Simmons, Amy Smart, Vincent Ventresca and Adam Devine.

Break Point co-star David Walton sat down with me a few weeks ago to talk about his tennis career, the tennis world today and, of course, Break Point.

National Monitor: How did you get this role?

David Walton: I had to audition for it, but there’s a story. Gene Hong, who’s the writer, is friends with my wife. They were catching up one day and he asked my wife what I was doing and she told him that I was playing tennis. Gene called up my agents and asked if we would consider it. I don’t think I’d be in this movie if Gene hadn’t called my wife and she mentioned that I was playing tennis.

Did she get her 10% fee for this then?

She gets a lot more than that [laughing].

What did you like about the script?

I don’t know if you read a lot of scripts, but it’s just a gut reaction. There’s a level of truth and humor combined that made me want the part. And it was about tennis which I love. If I had to analyze it further, it’s a heartwarming story with some dark humor which I like, especially Jeremy’s character. I always want to do something that’s honest. I want you to come away from it feeling like your humanity’s been reaffirmed; that you’ve seen into a window of real life.

How long have you been playing tennis?

Since I was three.

Wow.

I know you couldn’t tell in this movie [laughing].

You can’t fake it.

Without question it’s the best tennis movie ever made. The tennis is all real. I was watching a clip of Wimbledon and the amount of rallies that were fake balled or digitized is preposterous. It looks like [the HBO movie] 7 Days in Hell. Have you seen that yet? It is so funny.

As good as you are in this film, how do you compete with [young actor] Josh’s charm?

Josh is actually 34. I’m never doing it again, but I spent the last three years acting with prepubescent boys between [the TV series] About a Boy and this, I’m done. I’m not doing it anymore [laughing]. To be honest though, Benjamin Stockham, who played the boy in About a Boy and Josh are like best friends so it was very strange. I’m used to working with intelligent, exceptionally charming boys and you just have to roll with it. You can try to mess them up to make yourself look better, but you really can’t. They steal every scene.

Josh knows every airplane model by the motor sound. We were shooting outside a lot and he’d be like, ‘that’s a PX 40 Twin Prop [overhead].’ I would think, ‘what’s wrong with you [laughing]?’

As a tennis player, what’s the challenge to translate that to film?

Tennis doesn’t lend itself to sports movies so I think that’s why there have been so few of them. It’s just balls going back and forth and the points are kind of similar. Doubles is better because you can have some wild points. Less is more. You don’t need to see a ton [of rallies]. In the final match, they crafted it to build up the tension.

When you’re shooting [a tennis scene], it is so funny because you’re just trying to look good. They’ll tell you to hit a cross court forehand and you will frame the ball and hit it over the fence. Because the camera is right on you, you have to be like ‘yes! Yes!’ Even the extras who were watching would be trying not to laugh. The extras were extremely confused.

As a tennis player, did you want to add anything to the script that wasn’t already there?

I just wanted it to look like we were real people who could qualify for the U.S. Open. I’m actually friends with Andy Roddick and he just watched the movie with Mardy Fish and he said, ‘I approve.’ That was a huge moment for me.

How was the chemistry between you and Jeremy and J.K.?
This film was shot pre-Oscar J.K. Very different guy.

Now he won’t take your calls?

No, no [laughing]. I remember watching him in Juno and thinking, ‘what a cool parent.’ And I think he’s like that in real life. He’s great with kids and he’s a caring dad.

So he’s not like his character in [HBO’s] Oz then [as Nazi skinhead Vern Schillinger]?

No, no [laughing]. He’s not like that or like his character in Whiplash.

Did you suffer any tennis injuries during the shoot?

We were basically snorting ibuprofen.

I’m glad you said ibuprofen.

Yeah [laughing].

Who’s the better tennis player, you or Jeremy? And what would Jeremy say?

He’s definitely going to say me. And I’m going to say me [laughing]. Seriously, Jeremy picked up the game a bit later. He looks better on screen, but I kick his ass in real life.

Are you going to teach your kids to play tennis?

I am. Big time. They’re three and one. The three year old isn’t showing a lot of promise in the coordination department at the moment, but she just turned three. We have tennis courts near our house and I leave tennis rackets lying around to see what they will do with them. Right now, they just sort of eat the handle. Hopefully, they’ll actually start swinging the racket.

Please teach her not to grunt.

We had some fun on the courts fake grunting. Jeremy and I had to decide what our grunts were. Jeremy was like ‘[in a deep growl] I’m a bear!’ So I was going to be ‘[in a dainty sigh] uh!’

This is a relatively new phenomenon. Monica Seles was sort of the first one who had the weird sound, but now everybody has a weird sound.

It’s true. I think it’s incredibly distracting. A couple people toned it down. There were some complaints and I think a female player figured out a way not to [grunt so loud]. Tennis is such a mental game and every shot is so pressure packed and how you breathe is important. I do think there is some substance behind why they’re doing it.

So let’s talk tennis.

Great. I’ll be on The Tennis Channel during the U.S. Open.

What will you be doing for The Tennis Channel?

Just an on-camera interview with Jeremy. Do you know Justin Gimelstob?

Yeah. I’m a tennis fan.

So you know Gimelstob. He was briefly in the movie but I think his part got cut. He’s been around this movie since the beginning.

Was he a consultant for the movie?

No, I think he just wanted to be in it [laughs]. He does a lot. I think he’s a great ambassador for the game. And making sure he has a job.

That’s what we’re all trying to do right? You mentioned that you know Andy Roddick.

Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish are friends of mine. I love talking to them and I probably annoy them with my questions. Mardy is a great golfer and Andy is not so good. Andy and I are similar golfers. I played this left handed match against Andy and lost. He just ate me up alive.

Well, Andy could probably be ranked pretty high if he was still playing [tennis].

He said he could be Top 20 but he doesn’t have any interest in being Top 20.

With all the travel and everything?

I think he’s over it.

So will you see Mardy’s last match at the U.S. Open?

I hope so. I don’t know exactly when I will be there and you don’t know when his last match might be. Andy and Mardy were going to play doubles, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. They played doubles in Atlanta.

I think they made the quarters there.

Right, but I think they won one match to get there.

Let’s just say quarters. That sounds better.

I don’t think Andy likes doubles much. He’s not a doubles player.

Since this movie will be coming out during the U.S. Open, do you have any predictions for the U.S. Open?

I’m such a lover of [Roger] Federer. It’s unhealthy almost. I’m always rooting for him. If he goes the distance, I’d be so happy. [Novak] Djokovic is just so freaking good. It’s crazy. Wimbledon [when Djokovic defeated Federer in the final] kind of broke my heart but I sort of saw it coming. Are you a Federer fan?

You know, I like Federer and I like Djokovic. I don’t really have a favorite between the two.

Oh really? Do you like [Rafael] Nadal the most?

I would like Nadal if he didn’t pick his ass between every point. It drives me insane.

I can see that being hard to watch.

Like every time.

And there’s 150 points in a match so he’s picking his ass 150 times. I’m noticing Federer has a little tic. Before he serves, he fits the ball into the triangle [of the rackeet] every time.

I never noticed that.

I was actually reading a David Foster Wallace article, Roger Federer as Religious Experience. It’s such a good article. He writes about what you see watching tennis live versus watching it on TV. It’s just so much more spectacular what these guys are doing in person.

On the women’s side, do you have a favorite [to win the U.S. Open]?

I like Serena [Williams]. I like watching her. I was on vacation and I was watching Wimbledon this year. Wimbledon is a good thing to have on in the background. You don’t feel guilty.

It’s probably healthier than watching Jerry Springer.

Slightly [laughing]. My roommate in college was a Jerry Springer fan so I watched so much Jerry Springer.

Speaking of Serena, do you think anyone can beat Serena at the U.S. Open? She’s the huge favorite since she’s won every major this year.

I don’t know. Who do you think? Who’s the number two player?

[Maria] Sharapova’s number two, but she can’t beat Serena.

Does she always lose to Serena?

Yea, [Sharapova has] lost to Serena like 16 straight times or something [for the record, Serena has won their past 17 matches].

Oh my God.

The last time Sharapova beat Serena was in 2004.

Wow. I had no idea. That’s nuts.

Maybe [Victoria] Azarenka, though she’s had a lot of injuries. It depends on the draw.

True, but I would say that Federer, Djokovic, [Andy] Murray and Nadal in the semis seems like a safe bet. [For the record, after the draw was announced, Djokovic and Nadal could meet in the quarters.] It’s crazy how good those guys are. They’ve dominated for how many years now.

So the Bryan Brothers made a cameo [in Break Point]. Do you know how that happened?

I think an agency reached out to them. They were so professional and were such good sports. Jeremy and I, when the cameras weren’t rolling, got to play with them for like a half an hour. It was just so fun to rip forehands at them as hard as you possibly could. They totally morph into their personas. They were chest bumping and talking to each other like it was a performance and I appreciated that. I hit one winner on them and they were like, ‘good shot man!’ It was heavy topspin, low cross court, just out of his reach.

Not too many non-professional tennis players have hit a winner against the Bryan Brothers. You mentioned you started playing when you were three. How far did you go with your tennis?

Not far. I grew like eight inches in a year and blew out my elbow. My body fell apart and that was right when I was 12 or 13. When I was 10, I was like, ‘I want to be a professional tennis player.’ I loved watching tennis. Michael Chang was my guy. I had played some tournaments and I had a pro tell me that I could be a Top 10 nationally ranked player and then I proceeded to get smoked in these tournaments. I went to tennis camp and stuff, but I stopped when I was like 13 because of my elbow. Still to this day, my elbow gets bad if I play back to back days. Once or twice a week is what my body allows me. Do you play?

I used to, but my knees are bad.

I like the Har-Tru – the green clay. It’s so much easier on your body.

Yea, I think clay courts would be much better for my knees. Are there clay courts around here [in Los Angeles]?

Not many. If you can play, I think you can still get better and better until you’re like 45 or 50.

A lot of athletes say that. Especially mentally, you become a smarter player.

And doubles too. You get better with ball placement and mental toughness.

Since you’re a tennis fan and there’s always a debate about who’s the greatest of all time. Who are some of the players, in your opinion, who are the greatest of all time?

I think Federer is the greatest of all time. It bums me out that Nadal has done so well against him. It’s hard to make that argument when you have a losing record against one of your biggest rivals. The way he’s played the game has just been incredible. What’s happening now, it’s like you have three of the greatest players of all time playing right now – Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. Poor Roddick just got buzz sawed by Federer.

That one Wimbledon match [Federer defeated Roddick in the 2009 final by a close score of 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14]?

He lost 9 or 10 times in the semis or later to Federer.

If Roddick had been born a few years earlier.

He would have gotten a few more [major titles. He was the 2003 U.S. Open champion]. I just saw [John] McEnroe play in the Pro Series. I had never seen volleys like that. Mac was the greatest volleyer ever. But Fed is the best ever.

Let’s end with a question about Break Point. There’s a recurring theme of resilience in the movie. Can you talk about being resilient in your life?

How you respond to failure is everything. I just read a good book called The Obstacle is the Way [by Ryan Holiday] and it’s about how all of your real moments of growth in your life happened when you were facing the strongest headwinds and how you responded. The book gets you fired up to seek out obstacles and challenges. If you do something that makes you uncomfortable every day, that’s a sign that that’s the path you should be on.

Break Point is now available on Video on Demand and opens in select theaters September 4.