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Steve Johnson wins Newport in competitive 3 setter against Ramanathan

By Keshav Gopalan

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Steve Johnson of the United States returns against Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium during their Men's Singles first round match on day one of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 2, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Steve Johnson of the United States returns against Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium during their Men's Singles first round match on day one of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 2, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
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Steve Johnson won his 4th ATP title and his second on grass, winning in the lawns of the Hall Of Fame Championships in Newport, Rhode Island. He beat Indian Ramkumar Ramanathan in a competitive 3 setter which saw some brilliant net play from the Indian.

Speaking of Ramanathan after the match, Steve Johnson said, “He came out and served great. He was phenomenal around the net and I was just happy to take care of my one chance in the first set and get a lead and buckle down in the third.”

Steve Johnson won his first title as a married man and will surge to 34 in the rankings after having nearly slipped out of the top 50.

An exciting and competitive match

The pair played some brilliant tennis, especially in the first set which nearly stretched to the tiebreaker, only for Johnson to clinch the break of serve towards the end of the set. Ramanathan played his usual attacking tennis, rushing to the net whenever he saw the opportunity to put the ball away from Johnson’s reach. The grass in Newport is more traditional to the grass from the older days, because of which the bounce is unreliable and low, which explains why Ramanathan would serve and volley on so many occasions.

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Exciting things to come for both

Both Ramkumar and Johnson have a reason to be optimistic about the future. This is the first time Johnson has won two titles in the same year and remains the only player so far to have won a title on both clay and grass this year (Richard Gasquet came close, but lost to Fognini in the Bastad final).

Ramkumar reached his first ATP final after a slump and played admirably. The Indian is the third-lowest ranked player to have made an ATP Final this year and was the first Indian to reach a final since 2011.

Next: In a continent seemingly dry of pros, Kevin Anderson is an example to follow

“I am going to keep going, giving my best, and next time I am going to win the title”, said the Chennai native.

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