Steve Johnson has denied Milos Raonic back-to-back Delray Beach Open finals appearances with his first win over the Canadian on Wednesday. The American posted a 6-2, 6-4 result over the No.9 seed to reach the quarter-finals.
Johnson had fallen in three prior FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings with Raonic. He will next meet Russian Evgeny Donskoy, an earlier 7-6(6), 6-3 winner over American Donald Young.
“The first set kind of got away from him with a second break so that is always comfortable,” Johnson said.
“It was important to get those first points on my serve to give myself a little bit of breathing room because when you get down and he starts hitting balls hard for winners, it’s kind of out of your control.”
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World No. 51 in the ATP Rankings, Johnson withstood 11 aces from the 27-year-old and lost just four points on his first serve to secure the result. It will be his first quarter-final appearance of 2018, a positive note in what has been by his own admission an up and down time of late.
“Still trying to keep my head above water and just take it one day at a time,” Johnson said. “Any chance you get to play more matches that always builds confidence.”
Raonic was in no way ready to apportion blame for his defeat on the blustery conditions disrupting his rhythm on Wednesday. The loss sees him fall to a 1-3 start to 2018.
“I’ve got to definitely review it, think about it, because that was a pretty poor level I put out there today. Not much to be happy with,” he said.
“I think he was just sharp. I’ve played him before so I knew what to expect. He was more aggressive today than other times. Was that my lack of creation, or was he just taking over and making me feel, in a lot of ways, silly out there? … I had a tough time with a lot of things today.”
In a mixed day for the Americans, No. 6 seed John Isner also fell. German Peter Gojowczyk eked out a 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 7-6(5) triumph over the three-time Delray Beach Open semi-finalist to await the winner of top seed Jack Sock and #NextGen ATP player Reilly Opelka. It is Gojowczyk’s third quarter-final of 2018 having already reached the last eight in Doha and Auckland.
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