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Steve Johnson: Former USC Standout, Next American Hope
49 Comments · Posted by Staff in Articles
“I can compete with anyone.”
By Peter Bean Hawkins
2014 saw a new wave of talent mark their impression on the ATP World Tour. Marin Cilic captured his first grand slam at the US Open. Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov made his first grand slam semi-final appearance on the grass courts at Wimbledon while Japenese star Kei Nishikori saw his celebrity climb at meteoric speeds as he broke through to his first grand slam final at the US Open. Needless to say, American tennis fans were left scratching their heads, wondering when the next great replacement to Andy Roddick will arrive and join John Isner in his chase to reach the top 5 in the ATP World Tour rankings.
A name that is often not discussed much is that of Steve Johnson. Johnson finished the year ranked 37 in the ATP World Tour rankings. The current Los Angeles resident made one of the more quiet ATP rankings climbs of 2014 starting the year ranked outside the top 130. I spoke with Steve to reflect on his 2014 campaign and his goals for his 2015 pursuit of grand slam success.
A gifted athlete and college superstar, Johnson found himself in a sophomore slump during his 2nd season on tour. Adjusting from the days of shattering NCAA singles records with over 72 wins in a row to cap off his collegiate career, Johnson found himself amongst a group of professional tennis players that weren’t intimidated by the 25 year old, Johnson’s success.
“Going from college to the tour was a difficult transition for me,” Johnson said. I went from winning every week to taking a loss every week at the ATP events. I lost a lot of confidence leaving college and struggling on the tour but it has been a long process and I feel like I have come out stronger and ready for more,” he said.
A booming serve that can top out into the 130 MPH range along with a penetrating forehand, the technical foundation for Johnson is quite clear. A revitalized approach to Johnson’s mentality was the growing factor in Johnson’s ability to secure key wins in 2014 over Kevin Anderson (Auckland), Tommy Hass (Delray Beach), John Isner (Washington) and Ernest Gulbis (Cincinnati).
“2014 was a great year for me seeing my ranking jump by over 100 spots into the top 40 by year end,” Johnson said. The mental side of that jump was huge, I made some big improvements in that area to be able to take positives from the losses and try to learn from them. I fell like I belong and can compete with anyone out there on the tour and that will be the mentality I take on the court with me,” he said.
A highlight of Johnson’s 2014 came on the red clay of Roland Garros not typically associated with recent American triumph. While a second round exit may on the surface seem as a disappointment, it was Johnson’s five set, two day battle over young Frenchman Laurent Lokoli that serves as a foundation for the American’s 2015 grand slam approach and a testament to grand slam durability that Johnson is keen to develop.
” Playing Lokoli at the french open this past year is one of the greatest moments I have had on a tennis court in my life,” Johnson said.
The former USC star fended off two match points and a two set to love deficit before securing the match 4-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-3 after having to return from an overnight delay in play. Johnson, accustomed to racous NCAA crowds in Athens, Georgia was once again the victim of strong Parisian crowd cheering for their home son who just days earlier sent Phillipe Chatrier on fire with his dance off competition with fellow compatriot Gael Monfils. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO3IQtW8Dlc).
“To be down and out like I was two sets and two breaks and be able to come back and win was something I will never forget. The crowd was very loud and very tough to handle but I knew it would be that way playing a young up and coming French kid in his home country,” he said.
I personally watched Johnson secure one of his best wins of his career on Grandstand 1 court at Washington D.C’s citi open. Fellow Californian, Sam Querrey partnered with Johnson in what was arguably the most entertaining match of the tournament in a third set super tiebreak affair against the the Bryan twins. After bowing out in two tight sets to Raonic, Johnson found himself back on grandstand against what many feel the greatest doubles pairing of all time.
“Sam and I have known each other for a very long time and its always a blast to go out and play doubles with him. We always seem to really just enjoy playing together and we had a great summer in 2014. Beating the Bryans was an amazing win for us, it was a great crowd in DC and it was the first time either of us had beaten the best doubles team of all time so that was definitely a thrilling win for us,” Johnson said.
The low point of Johnson’s season came at the US open where 37th ranked American fell to Japan’s Tatsuma Ito due to a bout of severe full body cramps. Johnson remarked part of his early grand slam troubles have been due to an over emphasis on performing at the highest of levels.
” Playing Ito was probably my lowest moment of 2014. I had a great summer in the states and some great results and to be up 2 sets and a break in the 4th just to go down with the cramping was extremely painful. Took my body a few days to recover from what happened but it took a week or so for my mind to be completely over the loss and really ready to move on to the next event,” Johnson said.
Johnson personifies the unrelenting risk taking spirit becoming common on the ATP World Tour. Enjoying massive success with his former coach, American Craig Boynton, Johnson decided to take on a new course, soliciting the assistance of former USC Trojan teammate and friend Peter Luccassen. The duo began their pairing following the US open at the Tokyo ATP 500 event. Johnson while grateful for the wisdom and expertise gained under the tutelage of Boynton, values the insight and fresh perspective Luccassen a former top 6 player for Peter Smith’s four peat national championship Men’s tennis program.
Photo Courtesy Getty Images
“Craig was an unbelievably amazing coach for me, we spent a ton of time together on the road and working on the game during the off weeks. We split after the US Open last year and I transitioned to a former teammate and someone who I really trust has my best interest in mind. Peter has a lot to offer and he is such a positive guy to have around that I am really excited about the upcoming season with him,” said Johnson.
Johnson a product of the USC culture of excellence aims to compete in grandslam play with the free-spirit offensive mentality of Pete Carroll, former USC Head Football Coach.
“Grand slams still dont come naturally to me which has been the biggest issue I believe. Ive put too much pressure on the need to do well at these bigger events and the pressure I am putting on myself is making it a little more difficult to just free up and play tennis the way it needs to be played. This is definitely something I am putting a big focus on in 2015 and beyond,” he said.
I asked Johnson about his experience and interactions with current members of the upper echelon of Men’s tennis. He commented about his experiences practicing with 33 year old, World number two, Roger Federer. Johnson marveled at the longevity of Federer and the intimidation factor the 17 time grand slam champion still commands on his opponents.
” I have practiced with Fed a few times over the past couple of years and of course there is an intimidation factor. Practicing with arguably the best player to ever play tennis is something special and now to be at the same events and competing with them is just as special. I would love the chance to have a long career of playing tennis at this high level and hopefully my body will be able to make it that long and my love for the game will never change,” he said.
Johnson still feels that there is an aperture in the rock solid foundation the big four have developed with grandslam dominance by Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray. Marin Cilic’s breathtaking service performance en route to his maiden grandslam title at the US Open captured the attention the attention of the young cohort of competitors in the locker room’s of the ATP World Tour.
” For the past decade or so there has only been a few guys winning grand slams and they just happen to be better than most of the other guys on tour. This past year with 2 guys winning grandslams that had never previously won one gives the rest of the guys confidence and belief that they can also win and contend for grand slam titles,” Johnson said.
With so much emphasis placed on the role of the “team” in developing professional tennis success, Johnson has stayed close to his family and California roots in his quest to make an impression on today’s tennis landscape.
“I have a ton of people who have made me the person I am today. My parents Steve and Michelle have done so much in my childhood to prepare me to be able to be competing at this level and to this day they are still such a big part of my support team. I have been fortunate enough to have my girlfriend Kendall travel and see the world with me and make the road feel like home. Peter is a big part of my tennis and from the USTA my strength and conditioning coach Rodney Marshall has me working hard but he is a close friend and when we are putting in the long hours we always make them enjoyable,” Johnson said.
Johnson continues his preparation for the Australian Open this week as he opens play against Joao Souza of Portugal in Auckland, New Zealand where is defending his quarter final result of last year.
Peter Bean Hawkins is a former college tennis player, from Bethesda, MD. He created the blog www.hawkins10s.blogspot.com
Andrew Miller · January 13, 2015 at 1:37 pm
SteveJo – first off, he knows how to win. That is a talent in and of itself, the desire to compete and put the ball where the opponent isn’t. That’s how a player wins matches and gets top 40 in the world, and SteveJo has exploded expectations. Few people saw him as top 50 outside Pete Bodo and a few others, and Steve Jo, homespun game and all, is there.
Really appreciate this article.
However – some drawbacks in the SteveJo plan. First of all, he is so hesitant on the backhand side that opponents with any skill whatsoever go there and either make matches longer than they should or (if they are top players) just punish SteveJo for his backhand. He slices an awful lot (no crime there) but his over-reliance on that side keeps him vulnerable. He gets pushed back behind the baseline (Nishikori and Matosevic both did this in Brisbane). With SteveJo already in the scrambler mode, this is a rough outing.
In other words, his backhand is very weak and he gets punished for it. It will be hard for him to maintain a top 40 ranking with such a black hole in his game.
On serve – he has a very strong serve with excellent placement. He has to fine tune it quite a bit though – even tighten the range of his serve and the placement so that he wins all his service games. Again as a smaller guy he needs it. Against a strong returner such as Nishikori, when SteveJo went to the Nishikori forehand he paid a high price. Poor placement to the backhand also made him vulnerable to the Nishikori return.
This could just as well be attributed to Nishikori for having an excellent return game, climbing into Djokovic territory for how strong it is. But for a SteveJo, he just has to nail his serve where his opponent is not.
As for his court movement, I am surprised how FAST SteveJo is – he is a quick guy and gets around the court fast. As in lightning fast – he was as fast as Nishikori. So the job for SteveJo is definitely to use that speed to his advantage by sharpening up that return, getting a backhand in world class order, and working the angles so that he can move in and block off the volleys.
He needs to make the court smaller – not scramble behind the baseline and be at the mercy of other players’ strategies.
A lot to like in the SteveJo game – an under-rated game and player. But a player whose game needs both improvement and, for what it’s worth, some Connors like emotion. He needs a way to disrupt his opponents – not just with his game but his toughness.
In the Sock-Johnson debate, to me, Johnson comes out on top. He has less height etc., maybe less talent, but in the Nadal mode he is smart and makes things happen whereas I think Sock has shown a tendency to coast.
Otherwise, when it comes to looking at the U.S. tennis future, the young guys like Kozlov, I think all of them will owe a debt to SteveJo for showing that with big time commitment a player can play full time on the ATP. Huge achievement for Johnson and something some of his peers, such as Klahn for example, haven’t been able to achieve. Johnson and Sock are separating from the pack – and that’s how it is done.
Scoop Malinowski · January 13, 2015 at 7:27 pm
Johnson is a pretty tall guy actually, he moves very well. I always saw him as a top 50 player, even in his first year on Tour, he had some good wins then he had a stretch where he kept losing very close five setters in majors, then finally he won that one mentioned in Peter’s article vs. the young French kid at FO last year. That was HUUUGE for Steve, to get that monkey off his back. He had about 3-4 heartbreaking losses in majors, one was to Almagro, another earlier at US Open to Bogomolov, losing all those 5 setters in majors could have broke his spirit but he got over that hump last year finally and look what happened, he blossomed into a top 50 player. Not sure about working with a college teammate with no tour experience, I think Johnson could fare better with a Tour savvy coach like a Spadea, Rick Leach, Chuck Adams or Todd Martin. But Steve knows the ropes now maybe he just wants a good friend for other reasons. I project top 25 for Steve this year. He’s always impressed me.
Dan Markowitz · January 13, 2015 at 8:37 pm
Look, the story of SteveJo is what Leif Shiras told me in the Delray bathroom after SteveJo lost to who was it? Anderson last year. Without a backhand passing shot that goes crosscourt or a good rally backhand, the guy’s upside is limited. And then losing to Ito in the first round of the Open, I’m just not buying SteveJo moving up in the rankings. How many slam wins did he have last year? I think Sock has more of an upside. He’s younger and got the bigger weapons.
Andrew Miller · January 13, 2015 at 11:58 pm
Leif is right – but Sock has no backhand either. Liability for both guys.
bjk · January 14, 2015 at 7:41 am
Great color from the staff writer.
Johnson’s serve and forehand are almost unbeatable when he’s playing well. But why didn’t he develop the backhand while he was knocking over 72 tomato cans in college? It is possibly the worst stroke in the top 100. It’s not that he can’t hit it, but he has no confidence in it. I’d like to see him play a challenger tournament and hit nothing but drive backhands, no relying on the slice at all.
Scoop Malinowski · January 14, 2015 at 9:09 am
Rusedski made top 5 with his weak backhand. F Lopez made top 15 and stayed in the top 50 range for over a decade with his mediocre BH. Edberg’s forehand. Roddick’s BH. Niculescu’s slice FH. Players can have very good careers despite a weak stroke in their arsenal. Steve Johnson always impressed me, the best is yet to come. We’ll see.
Andrew Miller · January 14, 2015 at 10:45 am
bjk: “It is possibly the worst stroke in the top 100.”
Copy that. Klahn’s was too, which is odd because in his NCAA champion year Klahn smoked his two hander. Then it unraveled – he was injured and then seemed to rely on his big serve and FH to get back into gear, but abandoned the BH.
Flopez has a nice one hander and quite a great slice! He is like a poor man’s lefty Edberg.
Scoop Malinowski · January 14, 2015 at 10:59 am
I always liked F Los BH but a lot of people criticized it. hey, it was good enough to beat Delpo in the Davis Cup final. Klahn was smoking Harrison witht hat BH and FH when I saw them practicing together twice in Sarasota and Miami.
Andrew Miller · January 14, 2015 at 11:01 am
On today’s tour a weak backhand is the ticket out of the top 20. Began with Courier – once everyone knew how to exploit the backhand, Courier could not maintain his ranking. By 1996, around age 25, Courier wasn’t seeing the 2nd week of slams. By 30, Courier was out of the sport.
Roddick’s shoring up the backhand brought him back to the Wimbledon final. Blake improving his allowed him to beat a 17 year old Nadal a few times. Makes a difference.
Harold · January 14, 2015 at 11:42 am
Waiting for the Harrison weekly update. Loses to Odesnik in straights. This week it will be an Obituary.
Sock has a much better future than Johnson, only because he is younger. Both will never be Top 20. A Quarterfinal in a Major will probably be their peak achievement, if they get lucky. Bad BH’s and not the greatest movers.
Rusedski had one of the best lefty serves, and didnt try grinding out matches from the baseline, and his run lasted two good years. Edberg was able to hide his FH, by having the best volley, maybe in History.
When I started playing Tennis, the biggest shock to me was that players could have better backhand’s than forehands. From Park players to Pro’s.
Mike · January 14, 2015 at 12:07 pm
This article seems overly optimistic of Johnson to me. Watching him play at several events I haven’t seen anything from him to indicate to me that he will get any higher than he is now. As others have said his backhand will forever hold him back unless there is drastic improvement. Yes he has a nice forehand but I don’t see it as a top 25 caliber weapon. In the U.S. we just need to be patient with the red,orange, and green ball becoming the norm for young development I expect that with in the next decade or so we will see a flood of new young american players who show much more promise.
Illuminatus · January 14, 2015 at 1:30 pm
stevie is solid (minus BH wing) but sock definitely has more upside….harrison needs to mature and get out of this spoiled little brat routine….school’s out – let’s see who can climb (or tank) further in 2015 !
regards,
adam
Andrew Miller · January 14, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Harold, no comeback from me. Can’t defend the indefensible – Odesnik beat Harrison in straights, and I find it hard to believe a player will make top 20 today without a backhand that is more than a rally-shot. Any U.S. player that has had notable results since Agassi’s retirement had a versatile or at least playable backhand, from Roddick to Fish to Blake to Isner (all of who made a slam QF). Up and down Querrey has one also. Down the ladder it looks less favorable – a few U.S. challenger players have nice backhands, but other parts of their game keep them at the gates of the ATP tournaments. I like Sock’s strategic sense, but like you said, his backhand is p-poor.
Any good player in today’s ATP should be able to feast on the weaknesses in U.S. players’ backhands. They force the U.S. players to run around them, open up the court for the opponent, who then have more than enough space to do what they want if they can. I know SteveJo wins and also played Nishikori tough – but to get the most mileage out of his game (and he’s done more than enough to show that he can play on the tour full time for the present), he has to turn that backhand into more than a cameo or good but insufficient slice. We’re not in Steffi Graf’s world today, and we can probably all agree that Graf’s slice was one of the best shots of her generation. SteveJo doesnt have her slice either.
But he’s a competitor for sure, I can’t count him out – he has an asterisk so it’s up to him to add to his game, shore his backhand up. Who knows.
I still think Harrison’s results since his QF in the Virginia challenger are better than they have been in a while and that he is winning more than he’s losing at the challenger level – that’s a good sign for what it’s worth. He’s also one of the few 22/under players in the top 200, for what that is worth. So as tempting as it is, I can’t write him off following a bad Australian qualifying – especially since he hired a good coach in Grant Doyle.
I can’t say the same for Rhyne Williams or Tenys Sandgren, both lost in rd 1 of qualies as well in competitive matches. I haven’t seen the footage either.
Scoop Malinowski · January 14, 2015 at 2:26 pm
harold, a teaching pro once told me BHs are more natural swing for the body with the torso rotation and foot plant than the forehand. previously i thought same as you it’s true most bakchands are more solid than forehands, for majority of players.
Scoop Malinowski · January 14, 2015 at 2:28 pm
Another abysmal loss for Harry. Just when he was getting a roll going. Now it’s back to the drawing board. I guess it’s Hawaii next.
Illuminatus · January 14, 2015 at 2:44 pm
scoop, put a fork in harry….he’s done for the year – haha
Andrew Miller · January 14, 2015 at 2:55 pm
Not making excuses, but losing is part of the sport. Many pundits wrote Federer off (as well as his fan base) and all of them got it wrong, he got his game back post Annacone. That’s the good and bad with tennis. During his comeback in 2004 i watched, i think, one of the worst matches i have ever seen from james blake, who lost to someone i hadnt heard of then and who i dont think ever made a splash since. Losing is part of the sport , it is what motivated players to stay sharp. Connors hated it, but loved competing more than he hated losing.
Again not making excuses, Harrison owns his own losses. But he is heading up the rankings again and he has another shot in Hawaii…much like the 127 players that will lose during the main event who will have to look forward after their tournanent ends.
I would be more concerned for Rhyne Williams or Ram, who lost a tough three setter to JJenkins. OR Mike Russell, who has two pretty hard matches to get another slam draw. The qualies in Oz are as hard as anywhere – look at Zverev, last years Oz jr champ who sent Kozlov out in the finals and lost to JP Smith (a good player but very beatable opponent, a good match for a young player) or Bhambri, who won a nail biter, finally.
Again, I am no apologist for Harrison. But he is back in business despite the loss and my guess is he wants to make draws.
Andrew Miller · January 14, 2015 at 2:57 pm
Coach Skelly talks grip it and rip it on the bh wing. I’ve yet to have it work right, some years it was as good but under pressure i pretty much stevejo it and put all the emphasis on the fh and serve.
Scoop Malinowski · January 14, 2015 at 7:03 pm
Andrew, I was watching that Fed-Hewitt exo in Sydney and Annacone was commentator and he tried to say that he was advising Fed to go to net more in 2013 but Fed wasn’t comfortable or able to do it because of his back problem. Not sure I’m buying it but Annacone did say this during the telecast.
dan markowitz · January 14, 2015 at 7:54 pm
how about Jenkins getting I think only his second slam quali win. And iron mike Russell wins easily. no shame for Harry, Odesnik is a tough out. And how many times before have we’ve seen a guy have a great week prior to a slam and then go down in the first round of the slam. What about the two Melzer brothers coming out with wins. I can’t remember two brothers both winning a match in a slam singles contest, quails or main draw. And what about Ymer just dogging Benoit Paire, love and 4. Geez, Paire has dropped significantly in the rankings. He’s got a nice game, but maybe the heart isn’t there. Ymer looks like the young prospect more than Zverev.
Andrew Miller · January 14, 2015 at 10:05 pm
From the school of insulting players like fish to get them to perform ( or players using perceived insults to motivate themselves ) : pironkova in sydney , defending champ , was forced to play the qualies, again, to get into the draw. She used the snub to get back to the semis for another rematch with kvitova.
Who says players require only encouragement? Sometimes all it takes is one journalist question or fan slight and the comeback is on.
Scoop Malinowski · January 14, 2015 at 11:14 pm
Absolutely Andrew, I was there when Lloyd Carroll of the Queens Chronicle unintentionally insulted Mardy Fish calling him a “journeyman” after Fish lost in five sets to Robredo. Fish turned his career around after that slap in the face moment. Never forget that. And Fish admitting a year later to Carroll. the journeyman comment deserved credit for his success. True story. Tough love. I like Pironkova a lot, good player and one of the unsung beauties of the WTA.
dan markowitz · January 15, 2015 at 8:58 am
Tennis is an amazing sport. I’m scrolling down the scores today in Costa Rica and I see the name, Alexa Glatch. I mean she’s only 25 and she’s ranked No. 543 but she’s still playing. Amazing, once a phenom, no longer, but still playing and winning a Quali match.
Iron Mike wins in 3 against De Baaker and Donaldson went down in 3 to Broady. Scoop, you’d have to say that Donaldson is above Kozlov if he’s playing the Qualis and doing rather well and Kozlov is getting knocked out in the quarters of a Futures.
Scoop Malinowski · January 15, 2015 at 9:13 am
Kozlov is not below Donaldson, he just opted to stay in US and play here in CA and Hawaii, they want to hook up with Sampras, Agassi and Connors during this 3 week stretch in LA. No rush to play Aus Open qualies, remember, Kozlov is 16 still – 17 in Feb. Glatch still battling. I remember she was a big prospect, she played Serena on Ashe when still a teen. Slow progress, injuries, good to see she still believes and is giving it her all. Iron Mike is Rocky Balboa, what is he 37 by now? De Bakker has been a disappointment.
Andrew Miller · January 15, 2015 at 10:25 am
Read on another blog, tenisnerds, that koz trained with Etcheberry for fitness. That is who you turn to for physio.
Andrew MiMayer d. Bller · January 15, 2015 at 1:05 pm
More results – same as what Dan said.
Rd 2 qualies Aussie Open
Bemelmans d. Berrer. Wow, Berrer, beats Nadal…for this.
Broady d. Donaldson in tough 3 setter. UK on the ups!
Copil d. Philipp Petzschner, 8-6 in 3rd. Nice win.
Jasika d. JP Smith, 12-10 in 3rd. Maybe Jasika for real.
Russell d. De Bakker 7-5 in 3rd. 1 more Iron Mike!
Moriya d. Coucaud. Japan on the ups.
Propoggia d. McGee. Too bad – no 2nd slam in a row.
Marchenko d. Fucsovics, 9-7 in 3rd. Marchenko good?
Kubot d. Nedovyesov E-z. Nice win for Kubot.
Kudryavtsev d. Mott
Sugita d. Kovalik. More of the Nishikori effect, Japan up.
Edmund d. Krajicek in 3, going away. UK on the ups.
Arnabaldi d. Menendez
Buchanan d. M. Delic in 3. Nice win. Chase must be committed to making it. He lost 6-0 6-0 to Lokoli in Charlottesville in November, and comes back this year and beats Lokoli badly in straights, now one match from the draw. He also dismissed JJenkins earlier this year I think, he must be playing better.
Lokoli d. Torebko. I like Lokoli – he is the player that SteveJo credits with pushing him in the French Open, where SteveJo had to beat the talented Frenchman, and is on the ups as a young french player. Must get rattled or lose focus or something, he beat a good player in Torebko.
Bhambri d. Nishioka – nice result here from the former junior #1. Bhambri was playing well last year just before the Aussie Open and then played a dog of a year. Bhambri-Lokoli should be a nice match.
WTA side – nice to see the win from Doi. I like Doi, she is like the female Marcelo Rios (either her or the U.S. player Jamie Hampton – one of the few righties to play like a lefty). I like Hampton a lot, hope she comes back strong and pulls a Stosur, wins a Masters or goes deep in a slam. Actually, I think Hampton is a lot more talented than most of the “up and comers” on the U.S. WTA side, the most talented.
—
Hobart WTA
Who is this Brengle? She is in the semis and so is Allison Riske.
Sydney WTA
Kvitova d. Pironkova (too bad!), plays Pliskova (nice win over Kerber, who got no sleep! Matches were played late the night before so she pretty much played this match on empty) for the title.
Sydney ATP qf
Kukushkin d. Del Potro, two tie breaks. Does delpo have enough racquets for the Australian?
Mayer d. Benneteau. Nice win,.
Troicki d. Bolleli
Mueller d. Tomic. One more notch on the belt for Mueller. From stealing Roddick’s mojo to another atp comeback for the big serving lefty. I like Mueller.
New Zealand qf
Vesely d. DY, 6-2 6-3. Wipeout. DY back to…prepping for the Aus Open. Good luck DY.
KAnderson d. Steve Johnson 6-4 7-6 in a repeat of Delray semis.
semis here are Pouille v Mannarino (Manny!) and KAnderson vs. Vesely.
Dont look now but this could be Vesely’s tournament. That would be a big result for Vesely.
Doogie’s pick does it again. Haven’t seen anything from Doogie in a while!
Andrew Miller · January 15, 2015 at 1:05 pm
More results – same as what Dan said.
Rd 2 qualies Aussie Open
Bemelmans d. Berrer. Wow, Berrer, beats Nadal…for this.
Broady d. Donaldson in tough 3 setter. UK on the ups!
Copil d. Philipp Petzschner, 8-6 in 3rd. Nice win.
Jasika d. JP Smith, 12-10 in 3rd. Maybe Jasika for real.
Russell d. De Bakker 7-5 in 3rd. 1 more Iron Mike!
Moriya d. Coucaud. Japan on the ups.
Propoggia d. McGee. Too bad – no 2nd slam in a row.
Marchenko d. Fucsovics, 9-7 in 3rd. Marchenko good?
Kubot d. Nedovyesov E-z. Nice win for Kubot.
Kudryavtsev d. Mott
Sugita d. Kovalik. More of the Nishikori effect, Japan up.
Edmund d. Krajicek in 3, going away. UK on the ups.
Arnabaldi d. Menendez
Buchanan d. M. Delic in 3. Nice win. Chase must be committed to making it. He lost 6-0 6-0 to Lokoli in Charlottesville in November, and comes back this year and beats Lokoli badly in straights, now one match from the draw. He also dismissed JJenkins earlier this year I think, he must be playing better.
Lokoli d. Torebko. I like Lokoli – he is the player that SteveJo credits with pushing him in the French Open, where SteveJo had to beat the talented Frenchman, and is on the ups as a young french player. Must get rattled or lose focus or something, he beat a good player in Torebko.
Bhambri d. Nishioka – nice result here from the former junior #1. Bhambri was playing well last year just before the Aussie Open and then played a dog of a year. Bhambri-Lokoli should be a nice match.
WTA side – nice to see the win from Doi. I like Doi, she is like the female Marcelo Rios (either her or the U.S. player Jamie Hampton – one of the few righties to play like a lefty). I like Hampton a lot, hope she comes back strong and pulls a Stosur, wins a Masters or goes deep in a slam. Actually, I think Hampton is a lot more talented than most of the “up and comers†on the U.S. WTA side, the most talented.
–
Hobart WTA
Who is this Brengle? She is in the semis and so is Allison Riske.
Sydney WTA
Kvitova d. Pironkova (too bad!), plays Pliskova (nice win over Kerber, who got no sleep! Matches were played late the night before so she pretty much played this match on empty) for the title.
Sydney ATP qf
Kukushkin d. Del Potro, two tie breaks. Does delpo have enough racquets for the Australian?
Mayer d. Benneteau. Nice win,.
Troicki d. Bolleli
Mueller d. Tomic. One more notch on the belt for Mueller. From stealing Roddick’s mojo to another atp comeback for the big serving lefty. I like Mueller.
New Zealand qf
Vesely d. DY, 6-2 6-3. Wipeout. DY back to…prepping for the Aus Open. Good luck DY.
KAnderson d. Steve Johnson 6-4 7-6 in a repeat of Delray semis.
semis here are Pouille v Mannarino (Manny!) and KAnderson vs. Vesely.
Dont look now but this could be Vesely’s tournament. That would be a big result for Vesely.
Doogie’s pick does it again. Haven’t seen anything from Doogie in a while!
Andrew Miller · January 15, 2015 at 2:57 pm
Jasika is good! Reminds me of DY in some ways, more conservative player but solid. Of Djokovic in other ways because he just stands right in the middle of the court and pushes the other player around. Bigger backhand than DY, whereas DY has the bigger FH.
Always fun to watch the lefties do battle. I had thought Vesely would be prepped for DY given he had already dispatched another lefty during the week.
Suprised that Jasika had so much trouble with JP Smith – I had watched Kudla beat JP Smith (handily) in last years Aussie qualies. Jasika seems to play a little too much with the ball – reminder to players:
don’t play with your food. Take care of business out there! Rios, Agassi, Djokovic – they just don’t stay out there on the court very long. Jasika should go for that model – just take care of things and get to the locker room.
Andrew Miller · January 15, 2015 at 11:46 pm
From Matt Cronin @ Tennis.com, Johnson says he’s going for the big year.
“I really want to come down here and do well and kind of impose myself, and not prove that last year was kind of a fluke or I did it on accident over the course of a few months. I know I’m a good tennis player, and I want to come down here and start off the year and show guys I’m not an easy out. I’ve improved a lot over the last six months, and I want to show guys that. I want to go out there and use my competitiveness…One of the things I’m most of proud of about myself, I don’t give up or throw in the towel…I really like to go out there and compete. If a guy is too good that day, he’s just too good. But I’m going to make him earn it.â€
Andrew Miller · January 16, 2015 at 10:20 am
Results
Auckland ATP: Vesely d. KAnderson, plays Mannarino for title.
How about that Vesely! He keeps moving on up.
Sydney ATP: Troicki d. Mueller, plays Kukushkin in an all-qualifier final. That’s right…an all qualifier ATP final.
Sydney WTA: Kvitova d. Pliskova for the title.
Hobart WTA: USA’s Madison Brengle (who?) vs. UK’s Heather Watson for the title. That is impressive.
Rest of Rd. 2 qualies Aus Open men.
Millot d. Odesnik. Millot is a good lefty.
Darcis d. Michon. Darcis is playing like Goffin!
Przysiezny d. Klahn. No Australian this year for Klahn.
Melzer J d. Munoz
Puetz d. Dzumhur (nice headline from Aussie Open website: “Dzumhur dumped from qualifying” <- expect Aussie honesty!
Kuznetsov d. Melzer G. Kuznetsov is 1 match away.
Wang d. Kravchuk
Hernych d. Pavlasek 14-12 in 3rd
Ymer d. Mertl
JJenkins d. Cecchinato
Chung d. Langer
Beck d. Harris
Bachinger d. Albot
Bedene d. Brkic
And for what it's worth, here is the final round matchups, winners get the main draw (maybe a lucky loser gets in, too). U.S. players have their chances
Ruben Bemelmans
Hiroki Moriya (28)
Dane Propoggia (wc)
Kyle Edmund
Liam Broady
Michael Russell
Lukasz Kubot
Illya Marchenko (26)
Marius Copil
Omar Jasika (wc)
Alexander Kudryavtsev (13)
Yuichi Sugita (19)
Yuki Bhambri
Chase Buchanan
Andrea Arnaboldi
Laurent Lokoli
Aljaz Bedene (7)
Michal Przysiezny
Tim Smyczek (4)
Maxime Authom
Jan Hernych
Alex Kuznetsov
Tim Puetz
Jarmere Jenkins
Hyeon Chung
Elias Ymer
Jimmy Wang (8)
Vincent Millot (31)
Andreas Beck (5)
Matthias Bachinger (24)
Juergen Melzer (2)
Steve Darcis (17)
Dan markowitz · January 16, 2015 at 11:57 am
Interesting match w Puetz and JJ. They probably faced each other in college.
Scoop Malinowski · January 16, 2015 at 3:02 pm
Quali matches are absolutely unpredictable, anything can happen.
Peter Hawkins · January 16, 2015 at 4:22 pm
Not going to take any credit or anything-
But I trained with Jenkins a bit before he left for Australia last fall/winter where he went on a tear. The guy is completely professional and in my opinion, maybe most underrated and overlooked current American.
Absurd physicality he brings to the table. Can track down balls from all parts of the court, mentality is becoming really solid now. If he qualifies watch out. He told me once that he played better and his level only rises the more people are watching. Maybe we will see him on Laver.
Scoop Malinowski · January 16, 2015 at 5:29 pm
Johnson plays a qualifier first round. Jenkins looked good vs. Kyrgios at Sarasota Challenger last April, the score was 3-4 I think, not a blowout. Jenkins is right there in the mix, if he can just figure out what needs to be solidified in his arsenal, he can bust a big move this year.
Dan markowitz · January 16, 2015 at 10:43 pm
Excuse me, right there in what mix? With Izzie, QBall and Sock. No, I don’t think so. JJ hasn’t yet won an ATP match and he’s 24. Impressive Pete that you train with him. You must be a monster yourself.
Andrew Miller · January 17, 2015 at 12:20 am
Aussie Qualies:
Puetz d. JJenkins 6-4 7-5. Puetz moves to the draw.
Bhambri d. Buchanan.
Hernych d. Kuznetsov
Russell d. Broady
Ymer, Smyczek yet to play their matches. Smyczek is up 5-2 I think in his final set against Authom. Interesting – of all players, Iron Mike Russell is the one moving on. I like JJenkins a lot – hope he makes it happen and has a good year on tour.
—
I’ve been watching Darcis – jMelzer, and Melzer just gives up sometimes! He pulled out the first set with quite clever shot-making (sneaking out a set where Darcis for the most part out-played him), and showed some gamesmanship I think in breaking back in the 5-6 game of the first set. All that said – both of them are quality players, they are steely vets. I’m impressed with Darcis’ ability to stick with the match through thick and thin – even after losing the first set (in a rather disappointing way). It paid off in the second set and I’d guess he pulls this one out unless he lets Melzer back in the match.
Also caught an interview with Ivanovic. Great interview – what’s not to like about Ivanovic. She looks ready to do well here, surpass her QF last year.
I think the WTA veterans may have upped their game for 2015. I don’t think matches will be easy for the players that want their due now like Bouchard – the WTA old guard “still has it”.
Andrew Miller · January 17, 2015 at 12:27 am
Ymer d. Cheung. Well done for Dan’s player.
Smyczek d. Authom. Well done Smyczek.
Edmund d. Propoggia
Lokoli d. Arnabaldi
Wang d. Millot
Bedene d. Michal Przysiezny
Alexander Kudryavtsev d. Sugita
Copil d. Jasika
Marchenko d. Copil
Bemelmans d. Moriya
Only matches left are the Darcis-Melzer match and the Beck-Bachinger match. Maybe Melzer will pull this off – he is a good lefty, but Darcis just keeps going for it.
Andrew Miller · January 17, 2015 at 12:48 am
Melzer d. Darcis – wow, what a great qualies match. Melzer saved it for the 3rd set, played through cramps in the 4-4 game – began hitting the serve as hard as possible and serve-volleying to end points quickly. Then in the 5-4 game with Darcis serving, Melzer began belting the ball as hard as possible, still with awful, hobbled movement.
And that’s what it’s all about. Melzer said “it’s just a matter of surviving [qualifying]”. Darcis played a technically beautiful match, and here comes funky, awkward playing Melzer (at moments) . I thought Darcis’ steady play would win the day but Melzer really came up with some special points. Got the sense that Darcis wasn’t going for broke here, going for the lines – Melzer was, and it paid off.
Brave tennis.
Andrew Miller · January 17, 2015 at 12:50 am
Sorry, let me rephrase. Darcis went for his shots for the most part in set one, and absolutely in set 2. But as the match went to the final games, he let off just a little bit and Melzer took the opportunity. Well done.
Scoop Malinowski · January 17, 2015 at 8:12 am
Fortune favors the brave, as Robby Koenig would say. Melzer knows how to win and how to get to the top ten zone. Great player. Everybody loves Ana, how can you not? Nice win by Vesely at Heineken Open over Mannarino, boy was he pumped up with that win. Fist pumps, fiery intensity. I saw watch out for JIRI VESELY this year! Big strong lefty, ferocious competitor, big weapons. He’s top 30 range now. Blake doing a great job as Tennis Channel commentator.
Andrew Miller · January 17, 2015 at 12:39 pm
Vesely did a great job, he is improving every year. Doogie was right about this guy.
I love watching lefties at the top of their game – like Melzer and Seles, etc. There aren’t many of them and when they play “like lefties” they make tennis a lot of fun. Hard to understand how a lefty Federer or lefty Djokovic hasn’t hit the scene. I thought Bellucci had the game to cause problems, there may be a commitment or belief issue that has held him back.
Andrew Miller · January 17, 2015 at 12:50 pm
Scoop, Melzer just took the game to Darcis in the final games, limping and all – he truly couldn’t move side to side so just went strong, hitting an extremely hard serve that forced pop up replies from Darcis, allowing Melzer to close in and knock off volleys. Melzer himself called it survival play. I was shocked, Melzer made the match turn on such small things and Darcis must be kicking himself. Darcis couldn’t exploit Melzer’s injuries, and caved to the relentless net charging from Melzer by spraying balls, hitting passing shots deep or long – it was unbelievable!
Melzer rattled Darcis. This was very much a connors or McEnroe play – Melzer threw a new look and suddenly Darcis caved.
Scoop Malinowski · January 17, 2015 at 1:31 pm
Next lefty to win a major? I might say Vesely.
Scoop Malinowski · January 17, 2015 at 1:34 pm
Andrew, the great players can shift up a gear in crunch time and raise their level under immense pressure. Melzer just proved he can do this in this match with Darcis. Good eye by you to see this. Unless it was really really obvious. “There are those who can see. There are those who can see when shown. There are those who cannot see.” 🙂
Andrew Miller · January 17, 2015 at 3:15 pm
Scoop, I swore I saw some gamesmanship in Set 1 from Melzer – it was the 5-6 game (I think) with Darcis serving and all of the sudden Darcis got upset when fans were still milling around in the stadium. Melzer started to get upset (but not really – he seemed to be doing it on purpose! Pointing to the fans in order to get more time to collect himself). So Darcis, himself still distracted by the fans, would serve to a more focused Melzer, who played a few excellent points. In other words, Melzer noticed Darcis was rattled and then played into that (played along, made it seem like the fans in the upper rafters of the stadium were bothering him) and would all the while remain focused on returning Darcis’ serve – it played right into Melzer’s hand, allowing him to break back after having been broken for 5-6. Melzer then made another comeback in the tiebreak (which I was certain Darcis would win given that he got ticked off from a bad call on his serve).
Point is – Melzer would just so subtly figure out what upset Darcis and DELIBERATELY distract Darcis just enough to get him to play a little less aggressive serve. Melzer then ate that serve for breakfast.
Before you know it, Melzer was up 1 set to zero. Then I thought Melzer relaxed in set 2 to get his energy level up – Darcis ran away with it (probably thinking he had Melzer beat). Melzer then obliterated that in set 3 and you could see Darcis self destruct ever so slightly – just worried about whether he would win the match or not ALL THE WHILE MELZER GOT AROUND TO THE BUSINESS OF WINNING IT!
I’d guess Melzer gets flattened in Rd 1 of the Open but he really did steal the match from Darcis. I like it when players win matches they have no right winning – it’s like Agassi vs. Blake at the US Open. Blake did everything to win the match except win it and says tennis was the winner. Agassi, meanwhile, knows he won it because whoever wins the last point wins the match.
Sometimes you have to just seize it. Good on Melzer, that’s the kind of tennis that is worth watching.
Andrew Miller · January 17, 2015 at 3:22 pm
Vesely, slam winner? Maybe in doubles. I think lefties are too volatile – there just aren’t many that win slams. Kvitova. McEnroe. Navratilova, Connors, Ivanisevic, Seles.
It’s rare. Just doesn’t happen much – Vesely will have to beat better players than Manny to win (and I think Vesely was all set up to beat Mannarino…he had already beat two other lefties to get to the final!).
Mannarino reminds me a little of Leconte. Less emotion but he plays a nice game there. No surprise he has been making/winning most of the challengers wherever he goes.
Andrew Miller · January 17, 2015 at 3:27 pm
Vesely served very well (over 10 aces)- made the difference. I watched some highlights and I think he basically just did what he needed to do to grab his 1st ATP title. Sometimes that’s enough.
Scoop Malinowski · January 17, 2015 at 4:47 pm
Good match analysis and the factoring of mind games into the result. Tennis is a lot more than just strokes and baseline bashing. Melzer is a crafty vet, who can take down the best. Similar story of mind games foiling a foe: I saw Nicholas Kiefer play Francisco Clavet at US open many years ago. Kiefer won first set and was struggling in second, all of his serve games were struggles but he’d hold. Clavet a lefty held serve easy. Pattern continued into tiebreak. Clavet was winning his serves easy and went up mini break.All the sudden Kiefer didn’t like a call and stopped the match to talk with the chair umpire about something for about 2 minutes. From being down a mini break and having lost the momentum of the match, from that “timeout” Kiefer dominated! He came back and won the tiebreak and cruised in the third set. Mind games froze Clavet who just stood there at the baseline like a cigar store indian while Kiefer talked and argued with the chair ump, which changed the match flow to his favor. Mind games do work. Melzer and Kiefer, two scholars in the art of mind games.
Scoop Malinowski · January 17, 2015 at 4:48 pm
I see Vesely as a rising force, lefty with pop, Kvitova Korda like. Big upside. Big.