Breaking into the Top 30 in the world is a milestone achievement in our sport.

Welcome to the club, Steve Johnson.

Johnson, 26, from Redondo Beach, California, reached a career-high No. 29 in the Emirates ATP Rankings last week – eight years, four months, and seven days after gaining his first ranking back on 1 October, 2007.

Success in our sport is predicated on patience, enduring adversity, and getting just a little bit better each and every day.

Johnson’s professional journey to the Top 30 took 3,543 days to plant, cultivate, and harvest, and that’s just what the typical professional tennis blueprint calls for.

Johnson, who was born on Christmas Eve in 1989, tapped into one of the most powerful forces of all – time – to gain his slight tennis edge.

Time for a tennis player is a massive unseen asset, magnifying the daily improvement of mastering the mundane, such as sharpening the essential tools of strokes and strategy.

Johnson’s key performance benchmarks on his pathway to the Top 30 all took about a year to achieve.

In a society that demands instant gratification, Johnson replaced the prevailing “right now” attitude to success by methodically cultivating his progress in yearly stepping stones.

Here’s how he did it:

TOP 1000       2010 (July)       
TOP 500         2011 (August)            
TOP 250         2012 (August)            
TOP 100         2013 (June)                
TOP 50           2014 (August)            
TOP 35           2015 (October)
TOP 30           2016 (February)         

Every part of Johnson’s game is incrementally getting better each season, with the big jumps coming on the returning side of the game.

Yearly Breakdown

2009-2012 – Johnson won four straight team titles at the University of Southern California under coach Peter Smith. Johnson also won the NCAA singles title in his last two years. He was the No. 1 ranked college player in 2011 & 2012, racking up a staggering 72 straight wins in his senior year.

2013 – Johnson lost more points than he won on tour (47 per cent), and was ranked primarily between No. 100 and No. 150 in the world. The jigsaw puzzle was still well and truly being put together.

2014 – This was Johnson’s breakout year, starting at No. 160 in the world, and finishing at No. 37. The move from outside the Top 150 in to the Top 50 is one of the most treacherous journeys in our sport, and Johnson crossed that bridge in a single calendar year.

2015 – This was a year of consolidation inside the Top 50 in the world, finishing the year at No. 32. He reached the final of the ATP World Tour 500 in Vienna, beating Alexandr Dolgopolov, Jerzy Janowicz, Kevin Anderson and Ernests Gulbis, before falling to David Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. Johnson was only two points from victory with Ferrer serving at 4-5 in the third set. Experience got Ferrer over the line.

Johnson is currently the third-ranked American player, behind John Isner (No. 11) and Jack Sock (No. 23).

His best performance so far this year was reaching the third round of the Australian Open. Johnson’s baseline game is built around a heavy forehand, and using slice off his backhand wing to buy enough time to hit as many run-around forehands in the ad court as possible. In Melbourne, Johnson hit 35 forehands winners and only nine backhand winner in three matches.

Johnson also won 81 per cent (17/21) serving and volleying, and 67 per cent (39/58) approaching the net. He did not lose his serve in the opening two rounds against Aljaz Bedene and Thomaz Bellucci, saving a combined 5/5 break points.

Johnson’s next big stepping stone is the Top 20 in the world. He currently has 1,240 Emirates ATP Rankings points, while No. 20 Bernard Tomic has only around 500 more points, at 1,720.

That jump can be done in a week, but as always, there is no rush with Johnson. His slow burn approach is a proven best pathway to ultimate success.

Aspiring juniors all over the planet can look to the patient, incremental steps Johnson took to the Top 30 as a very successful roadmap to copy.

Time is your best friend.

Argentina’s Guido Pella has withstood a barrage of 31 aces to send No. 4 seed John Isner crashing out in the opening round of the Rio Open on Monday night, saving three match points in the 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(8) upset. The 25 year old won just 17 per cent of points on Isner’s first serve but still found a way past the World No. 12 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

He failed to convert any of his four break point opportunities in the three-hour, two-minute affair but did well to fend off 10 of 11 break points. After opening his season reaching the quarter-finals in Auckland and fourth round at the Australian Open, Isner fell to 0-2 on his South American swing, having fallen to Dusan Lajovic in his first match in Buenos Aires last week.

In his Rio Open debut, World No.71-ranked Pella had two match points with Isner serving to stay alive at 4-5 in the third set but the American held for 5-5 before both players traded love holds to force the deciding tie-break. From 5/5 in the tie-break, three times Isner stood at match point only to be denied.

Pella brought up match point No. 3 of his own at 9/8 and closed it out to book a second-round showdown with with either Santiago Giraldo or Gastao Elias. “I had a lot of chances and I did not play the right way,” a cramping Isner released via a statement following the match. “I had high expectations for this trip. I hope to come back and play better.”

Bulgarian No. 4 seed Grigor Dimitrov has extended his unbeaten streak against Israeli Dudi Sela with a 6-4, 6-2 victory in the opening round at the Delray Beach Open on Monday. Making his tournament debut, the 24 year old needed an hour and eight minutes for his fourth win from as many FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings between the pair.

Dimitrov, coming off a run to the final in Sydney and quarter-finals in Brisbane before his third-round Australian Open exit to Roger Federer, landed just 51 per cent of first serves but lost only two of those 24 points. He never faced a break point throughout. He will take on either Damir Dzumhur or Ricardas Berankis next.

“I woke up this morning and the weather was great and next thing you know I come out to the courts and it’s blowing a lot. You’ve just got to prepare anything that’s out there,” Dimitrov said of the tryng conditions.

“I knew that I have to really focus because Dudi’s an experienced player. As a one-hander, it’s especially tough to control the ball. It’s one of the burdens to having a one-hander that in the windy and tough conditions you can’t hit your shot the way you want to hit it.”

Bidding to return to the top 10 after a disappointing 2015, in comparison to his 2014 season, the World No. 27 in the Emirates ATP Rankings said there were still positives to take from last year. “I’m happy with last year. I know no one expects me to say that but I learnt a lot from last year,” Dimitrov said. 

“It’s the one thing I can say. In those kind of moments you realise a lot of things, sort of a wake-up call. On and off the court, changing the team, I realised what I had to work on a little bit more.

“There was a lot to learn. I started the year positive, happy. I’m enjoying it again. Even when I’m practising down in Miami on Court 10, no one out there, I’m happy to come out on the court and play. I’m not trying to discourage myself too much and just move forward.”

Left-handed No. 8 seed Adrian Mannarino also progressed. The Frenchman bounced back to down Tunisian Malk Jaziri 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 in one hour and 31 minutes.

Mannarino broke serve on four of five opportunities, while Jaziri could only manage two breaks from nine chances. He will face the winner of an all-qualifier clash between Tatsuma Ito and Dennis Novikov.

Spaniards Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer are back in Brazil this week, to a city they have already tasted title success – Rio de Janeiro. They are the tournament’s top two seeds with each looking to add a second Rio crown to their collection.

World No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Nadal is making his fifth career appearance (17-1 record) in a Brazilian tournament on the ATP World Tour. He won titles in Costa do Sauipe in 2005 (d. A. Martin), Sao Paulo  in 2013 (d. Nalbandian) and Rio in 2014 (d. Dolgopolov). The 29 year old’s only loss came last year to Italy’s Fabio Fognini in the semi-finals.

“I came to Rio because I always had good results here,” Nadal said. “My first time I ended as champion and last year I made the semi-finals. I’m very happy to be here in Rio and willing to play my fisrt match now.”

Nadal comes off a run to the Argentina Open final in Buenos Aires where he fell in a third-set tie-break to rising Austrian Dominic Thiem. The Spaniard paid tribute to his conqueror and another youngster making waves during the same week, 18-year-old Taylor Fritz, who reached his first ATP World Tour final in Memphis.

“It is a generation that for a few years we have been waiting for it to arrive,” Nadal said. “Last week also saw an American (Fritz ) played the final in Memphis, which is very good for the circuit and for everyone in general the fact that there are new players, young players. I’m happy about it.

“Thiem is a player who has great potential. He is a player that if he can maintain the level and keep improving a Little, he is a candidate to do great things. We must congratulate him for the great week in Buenos Aires.”

The Spaniard will open against countryman Pablo Carreno Busta, a player he carries a 2-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against. Nadal beat Carreno Busta here last year in the Round of 16 and most recently in three sets in the Round of 32 in Doha to start his season.

Defending champion Ferrer enters with an 8-1 career record in Rio, having reached the semi-finals two years ago (l. to Dolgopolov) before winning the title last year (d. Fognini). The 33 year old Spaniard is off to an 8-4 start this season, highlighted by a semi-final finish in Auckland (l. to Sock), a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open (l. to Murray) and a semi-final run in Buenos Aires last week (l. to Nicolas Almagro).

“This year and last year I came here playing well,” Ferrer said. “In 2015, I won Doha and made the quarter-finals in Australia. This season, I made the quarters in Australia and reached the semis in Buenos Aires. So I come to Rio wanting to have a good tournament  and hopefully win again.”

Ferrer begins his title defence against Chilean wild card Nicolas Jarry, a 20 year old who stood as high as No. 172 in the Emirates ATP Rankings last May.  One of the game’s fittest players, Ferrer spoke of the need to be in peak condition physically to compete in South and Central America.

“It’s tough for all the players. Sometimes it ends up being a physical battle rather than a tennis one, because it is about who is physically stronger or better hydrated,” Ferrer said. “It has always been the case in Buenos Aires , Rio and Acapulco. They are very tough tournaments physically because of the heat and humidity. You have to be prepared for these conditions.”

Eighth seed Benoit Paire made a winning start to the French contingent’s campaign on Monday at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille. Paire, one of 10 Frenchmen in the singles draw, defeated Italian Simone Bolelli 6-4, 7-5 as he converted four of his 16 break point chances.

The World No. 22, who opened the season with a semi-final run in Chennai, snapped a four-match losing streak. He awaits a countryman in the second round: Nicolas Mahut, a semi-finalist last week in Rotterdam, or qualifier Vincent Millot.

Since 2006, there have been six French singles champions at this ATP World Tour 250 indoor tournament. Gilles Simon, the fifth seed this week, claimed the title in 2007 and ’15.

Belgian David Goffin, the No. 6 seed, rebounded from last week’s first-round exit in Rotterdam (l. to Baghdatis) as he defeated Korean Hyeon Chung 6-3, 6-1. 

Robin Haase notched his first match win in four tries at the Open 13 Provence, dismissing Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-0 in 63 minutes. The Dutchman will look to reach his first quarter-final of the season when he next meets No. 4 seed Marin Cilic.

Three Frenchmen – Julien Benneteau, Kenny De Schepper and Millot – and German Mischa Zverev all won in the final round of qualifying Monday. Mischa is in the same quarter of the draw as his younger brother, Sascha Zverev.