Home Cooking: Johnson Reigns In Indian Wells

Steve Johnson is right back where he wants to be. It had been nearly 10 months since the American stood as high as No. 63 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, but Johnson will ascend to that position after claiming the ATP Challenger Tour title in Indian Wells.

After an up-and-down 2019 campaign, the 30-year-old has turned the page in the new decade. No player owns a higher Challenger win percentage in 2020 than Johnson, who sits at 15-2 (.882) behind a pair of titles in Bendigo and Indian Wells. Both crowns came with the loss of just one set.

“I’m really excited to win my first title in Southern California,” said Johnson. “I’ve lived here my whole life and Indian Wells is my favourite place to play tennis. For me to put a bunch of wins together is phenomenal.”

Also a semi-finalist in Newport Beach and quarter-finalist at the ATP Tour event in Delray Beach, Johnson is firmly inside the Top 100 once again. His victory over Jack Sock in Sunday’s final at the Oracle Challenger Series – Indian Wells, came in just one hour and 29 minutes.

Johnson defeated his close friend 6-4, 6-4, saving all seven break points faced. In fact, he found his serve broken just once in his last four matches of the tournament. For the California native, it is the perfect prelude to the BNP Paribas Open, an ATP Masters 1000 event.

“Not too many secrets out there when Jack and I play, so I just had to take care of the big points and work to convert some of the break points,” Johnson added. “When I saw serving down break point, I thought I played them strong. That was the key component to my tennis all week and I thought I served really well. I’m very happy with my performance and will have this confidence going into the big one next week.”

Photo: Oracle Challenger Series/Jared Wickerham

Johnson was on the front foot from the first ball, breaking early for a 3-2 lead. A Sock volley popped up for his countryman, who crushed a forehand winner. He would capture the opener after 48 minutes and seized the initiative with an immediate break in the second set.

An hour later, Johnson was standing with the trophy. It was his seventh title in total at the Challenger level, having also won an additional four crowns on the ATP Tour. The Los Angeles native had previously never won a title in his backyard of Southern California.

Johnson improves to 6-5 against Sock in their longtime rivalry. Together, they won the bronze medal in men’s doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. But when facing off, Johnson has taken three of four encounters on the ATP Challenger Tour, while Sock is 4-3 at the Tour-level.

Both players will next feature at the BNP Paribas Open, with Johnson earning direct entry and Sock receiving a main draw wild card.