JOIN USA day after displaying dominant form top seed Tommy Haas suffered an upset loss to unheralded American Steve Johnson 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 in the second round of the Delray Beach Open on Wednesday.
Haas had opened the tournament with a breezy win over Wayne Odesnik on Tuesday but the 35-year-old could not repeat the feat against an aggressive young opponent who had to win two qualifying matches to make the tournament's main draw.
Johnson banged out 13 aces and did not fold when Haas mounted a rally and claimed the second set.
In the decisive third, Johnson held firm and dominated the tie-breaker to gain a huge victory in his young career.
"I've had a few wins I'll never forget, and this is one of them," Johnson told reporters. "I played a good week in Dallas (Challenger) two weeks ago and I played two good matches in qualifiers (here)." The win marks the second time this season Johnson has defeated a top-20 opponent, after he took down Kevin Anderson, who was ranked 20th at the time, last month in Auckland. This is not the first time Haas has bowed out of the Delray as a top seed as he was also ousted in the first round in 2010.
Sampras backs Federer
Roger Federer could play for another four years and add to his tally of 17 Grand Slam titles, according to former No 1 Pete Sampras.
“I’m amazed that he is up for more tennis,” Sampras said. “He has done everything in the game and he could walk away tomorrow feeling great about it. But he still wants to travel and compete and I’m in awe of it. He is a true lover of the sport.” Sampras, who retired after winning his 14th Grand Slam title at the 2002 US Open, said Federer should be comforted by a streak that finally ended with a defeat to Rafael Nadal. “I thought his level was quite good,” Sampras said. “When you’re playing against Rafa and if you’re not quite on your game then it can seem like you’re struggling. Rafa is a rock. But I do see Roger building from that, I think he’s going to do well this year.”