H. Johnson overcomes slow start to down Duong
ROCKWALL, TX - Despite a tough beginning to his Round of 32 match, Hunter Johnson is into the Round of 16 in the Lone Star State.
That slow start saw the former SMU tennis player get down 2-9 in his first game against No. 8 seed Quang Duong.
From that point on, though, it was all Johnson.
The No. 33 seed came all the way back to take Game 1 11-9 and maintained that momentum to take the second game 11-6.
“I kind of had a ‘Come to Jesus’ moment and just told myself to calm down a bit,” he said of the comeback effort. “I just stopped caring so much, and that allowed me to just focus on executing the gameplan and just slow everything down.”
The match was played under covered courts due to rain, which brought additional strategic considerations for Johnson.
“The ball is usually going to be a little faster playing indoors, so I just wanted to slow it down, get the ball to [Duong's] feet and make him hit volleys under pressure,” he explained.
Grayson Goldin awaits Johnson in the Round of 16.
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