Steve Johnson became 2016’s third first-time title winner on the ATP Tour when he beat Pablo Cuevas 7-6(5), 7-5 in the final of the AEGON Open on Saturday afternoon. Johnson fired 10 aces and held 11 of 12 service games to triumph after one hour and 32 minutes.
Neither man dropped serve or even faced a break point in the opening set. Cuevas soon pulled ahead 3-1 in the ensuing tiebreaker, but the Uruguayan lost six of the next eight point to throw away his chance at snagging a one-set advantage.
Johnson appeared to be en route to smooth sailing when he broke for a 2-1 advantage in the second. But with the pressure mounting as his maiden ATP title approached on the seemingly immediate horizon, the American cracked at 4-3. Nonetheless, Johnson got back on track by breaking for 6-5 and this time he made no mistake with victory on his racket. The former University of Southern California star converted his second championship point with a perfect drop-volley.
“It feels really good, I’m not going to lie,” Johnson assured. “I had some ups and downs so far this year. To find my groove on the grass is fantastic. I had a good week at Queen’s Club and felt pretty comfortable on the grass. Once I got here and played my first couple of matches, I knew I was definitely a contender to win this.
“I take lots of confidence from this. Any time you can be the last guy standing at a tournament is definitely a great feeling. I’m super happy, but pretty tired emotionally from stopping and starting so much with the rain the past few days. Starting Monday comes Wimbledon, so there’s no time to relax with another but tournament right around the corner.”
The other two first-time champions this season are Nick Kyrgios (Marseille) and Diego Schwartzman (Istanbul).
Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=topahCQqZWQ
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ALLEZ