STEVIE JOHNSON @ THE GERRY WEBER OPEN IN HALLE , GERMANY BY CHERYL JONES

Written by: Staff on 10th June 2014

STEVIE JOHNSON @ THE GERRY WEBER OPEN IN HALLE , GERMANY BY CHERYL JONES |

The Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. Photo by Cheryl Jones.

The first time I saw Stevie Johnson play tennis, he was 12 years old, with a crew cut and a mullet. He was with other young players and their coaches who were part of a junior clinic. Just by chance, his mother was sitting next to me and we spoke about children, as mothers are wont to do. She was proud of her young son’s tennis skill, but she was unsure of how she should behave as a tennis parent. What ever she ended up doing, she raised a very good tennis player who had the good sense to mature a bit before moving along with the tour. He went to college before joining the professional circuit.

Now, he’s much taller and he recently had a beard that has since given way to a five-o’clock shadow this week. He spent 4 years at USC and he won two NCAA individual championships, and he was part of four team championships each year of his tenure there. He became a professional after his last year of eligibility at USC and since 2012 has been primarily playing Challengers and Futures tournaments.

The Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany. Photo by Cheryl Jones.

Today, in a small town named Halle, nestled in the German countryside, Johnson won his first match at the Gerry Weber Open. His opponent was a “Lucky Loser”. Albano Olivetti, a French player from the Strasbourg area managed to move into the main draw of the GWO. (A Lucky Loser is loosely defined as a player who loses a match in the qualifying round, but then enters the main draw when another player withdraws for any reason. The Lucky Loser then enters the main draw in place of the player who withdrew. Usually it is the most highly ranking player who indicates they wish to be in the “pool” for a Lucky Loser spot.) This time it was because tour veteran, Tommy Haas injured his shoulder. (That may have been a break for Johnson, since Haas won the GWO in 2012 when to the delight of his German fans he defeated Roger Federer for the title that Federer practically owns over the past ten years.)

And the win was an easy contest. In just an hour and two minutes, Johnson showed why he has what it takes to compete at a high level. The score was 6-4, 6-2 and just like that, he moved on to the Round of 16. His ranking made a meteoric rise when this week, he moved up to 63rd in the Emirates ATP Rankings and became the second highest American, behind John Isner who is ranked number 11. At the beginning of the year, Johnson was ranked 160 and he seems to be swiftly traveling in just the right direction.

Johnson is from Orange County, California and grew up with tennis. He began using a racquet at two, hitting balloons and beach balls. He graduated to actual tennis balls soon after and played his first tournament at five. His father, (Steve, too), was initially his tennis coach and now he works with the USTA coaches out of Carson, California. The elder Johnson is the tennis coach at the Rancho San Clemente Tennis and Fitness Club. Stevie credits his father with his success in tennis, saying, “Since I can remember, it’s always been me and him out there hitting balls, having a blast.”

The Gerry Weber Open’s grass courts are “the” place to be after Roland Garros. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are here, along with an A-list of tennis stars who love the tournament for it’s mellow ambience. It isn’t Paris and it isn’t London, but it has a bit of everything – a wonderful first class Hotel; a Sports Parc with facilities that cater to athletes and their families as well; and it’s all right here in one place. There are no long rides to the venue. There is only a short walk to practice courts that are covered just in case of rain. (Today, it must have been a bonus to have the covers, because it didn’t rain, but it was hot – swelteringly so. Any semblance of shade was as welcome as an oasis in the desert.)

Photo by Cheryl Jones.

Tomorrow promises to be cooler and Federer will be playing doubles with his countryman Marco Chiudinelli, but not before two o’clock and not on the big stage. He loves it here. When he is on court, his family will be here, as always. But, this year, the Federer’s added two more to the mix. Now there are four children that accompany nannies and his wife Mirka. He may have to enlarge his guest box area if this continues.

The top four seeds received Byes for their entry into the Round of Sixteen. Nadal was the top seed, with Federer second, Canadian standout Milos Raonic third and fourth seed, Kei Nishikori of Japan. As always the Gerry Weber Open promises to have a full docket of entertainment available to patrons, and that’s just the tennis. Entertainment of varying kinds is always woven skillfully with the spectacular tennis.

The GWO always offers up choices and they are all winners. Johnson will face a twenty-nine year old Russian, Teymuraz Gabashvili. He is ranked 61 and the two should offer entertaining tennis when they face each other across the net on Thursday.

Topics: Atp, Cheryl Jones, Federer, Germany, Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Rafa, Steve Johnson, Tennis, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

June 10, 2014 at 12:47 pm

STEVIE JOHNSON @ THE GERRY WEBER OPEN IN HALLE , GERMANY BY CHERYL JONES – http://t.co/CWqxGd9r2u @GerryWeberOpen #Halle #tennis #Germany
jokelley_tennis says:

June 10, 2014 at 12:52 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: STEVIE JOHNSON @ THE GERRY WEBER OPEN IN HALLE , GERMANY BY CHERYL JONES – http://t.co/CWqxGd9r2u @GerryWeberOpen #Halle…
ARhyneMoment says:

June 10, 2014 at 1:11 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: STEVIE JOHNSON @ THE GERRY WEBER OPEN IN HALLE , GERMANY BY CHERYL JONES – http://t.co/CWqxGd9r2u @GerryWeberOpen #Halle…