He doesn’t play flashy tennis and he isn’t talked about when assessing the current state of American tennis but Steve Johnson is doing something right as he is maintaining his brilliant form, which steered him to the final in Vienna last week, this week in Valencia.
The Californian, who knocked out number two seed Feliciano Lopez in the round of sixteen, was too strong for Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, with a brilliant service display, which included nine aces and only two break point opportunities for the Spaniard. The American finished the match in just under an hour and a half with a 7-5, 6-4 scoreline and will reach a career high ranking next week as he will rise above his current position of number 33.
In the semi finals he will face the final seed standing, and his third local player in a row. Roberto Bautista put in another solid performance and mixed up his game by moving into the net to give Mischa Zverev no chance to play his attacking tennis. The German, who likes to charge into the net as soon as possible, had no answer for Bautista’s tactic and was comfortably dispatched in two sets.
In the top half of the draw, Vasek Pospisil reached his first ATP World Tour semi final in fourteen months after defeating German qualifier Daniel Brands 6-3, 6-3. The Canadian will fight for a place in his second career final with Joao Sousa who dug deep to fend off a total of five break points against Pablo Cuevas and surprise the Uruguayan 6-4, 6-4. The Portuguese player will himself be looking for a fourth final in an impressive season, although he will hoping for better luck after losing all three finals in Geneva, Umag and St. Petersburg.
