Stevie Johnson Wins Back-To-Back ATP Tennis In Houston • Pablo Andujar Wins Marrakech

Photo by @mensclaycourt via Twitter

 

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

Steve Johnson defended his title at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Sunday afternoon, going back-to-back by defeating Sandgren 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-4. Johnson capitalized on just two of 14 break-point chances, but a decisive break at 4-4 in the decider was enough to propel him past his fellow American after two hours and 22 minutes.

 

“It means a lot [to win] here,” Johnson said after capturing the third ATP title of his career. “This is one of the best tournaments of the year. You get the atmosphere of the country club, everything that goes with it. The people are awesome; everybody involved with the tournament makes it so special. (I’m) always happy to come back here and start my clay-court season.”

 

This marked Johnson’s first title since his dad passed away last year. In fact, his victory in the 2017 Houston final was the last match his dad saw him play. Stevie is also getting married next week.

 

At the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, Pablo Andujar took his comeback to a whole new level with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Kyle Edmund. Andujar broke Edmund an eye-popping six times in eight games before lifting the trophy after one hour and 22 minutes.

 

Returning from a significant elbow problem, the 32-year-old Spaniard needed a protected ranking simply to get into the main draw. He eventually became the lowest-ranked ATP tournament champion (world No. 355) since Lleyton Hewitt (world No. 550) at the 1998 Adelaide tournament.

 

“I played very well during the whole match,” Andujar assessed. “(I was) trying to make him move as much as I could. He attacks a lot and is a very strong player. I was very solid today and I’m very happy about that.”

 

“For me it was a good tournament; it was great experience for me,” Edmund said. “It’s been a good year so far. It’s not the result I wanted, but nevertheless a good week for me.”

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.