It would be understandable to anyone if Steve Johnson decided to take time away from tennis after the unexpected and tragic passing of his father, Steve Johnson Sr., on May 11 at age 58. Instead, the American bravely returned to competition last week in Geneva, and completed a dramatic 6-2, 7-6(8), 3-6, 7-6(6) second-round victory over #NextGenATP Croatian Borna Coric on Wednesday to match best result at this event. The events of the past three weeks and tension of the match boiled over after the final point, as Johnson dropped to his knees and burst into tears after the win. “I just miss my dad. I wish he was following along. I know he is upstairs,” said a visibly emotional...
Grigor Dimitrov played with confidence on Wednesday to book a spot in the Roland Garros third round for the first time since 2013 (l. to Djokovic). The Bulgarian No. 11 seed avenged last month’s Grand Prix Hassan II loss to former World No. 5 Tommy Robredo with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 second-round win in two hours and 13 minutes. “I think it was a better match today than the first one [against Stephane Robert],” said Dimitrov. “There were a lot of positive things. I still believe that I can do a few things better… We all know how Robredo can compete. [I’m] pleased with my game and looking forward to what's ahead right now.” [ALSO LIKE] Dimitrov lost just nine...
Milos Raonic relied on his most destructive weapon – his serve – to fight back and prevail against a clay-court veteran on Wednesday at Roland Garros. The fifth-seeded Canadian struck 25 aces, including four in the final game, to beat Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 and move into the third round. “There's some pluses to take out of it, some things I definitely want to do better. Obviously, I was very competitive. I felt a little bit sluggish to start. Sort of let him really into it, and you could see that he started believing after a while, and that's always a dangerous state. I managed to weather the storm and hold it out throughout that match,”...
Rafael Nadal’s quest for a 10th Roland Garros crown continued on Wednesday with a convincing 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Robin Haase in the second round. The Spaniard, seeded fourth in Paris, improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Haase to 3-0 and boosts his record at Roland Garros to 74-2. He has done well to conserve energy in the early rounds, spending just three hours and 41 minutes on court in his first two matches. “Robin is always a dangerous opponent. I was more in less control during the whole match, so winning in straight sets is always great news,” said Nadal. “I think I played a solid match and hit my forehand very well. My serve worked better than...
Competing at Roland Garros, Pablo Cuevas looks back on the best shot he's ever hit, in the Madrid quarter-finals, and reveals what Alexander Zverev later said to him.