Johnson Fights Back In Memphis

Fourth seed Steve Johnson showed impressive resilience on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Memphis Open, rallying from a set down to defeat qualifier and fellow American Tim Smyczek, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Smyczek appeared primed for the upset in the opening set, saving all four break points against him and breaking Johnson twice to grab the early lead. But the fourth seed shifted the momentum down 3-4 in the second set, winning nine of the final 11 games to take the match.

Johnson improves FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Smyczek to 2-0 and matches his best result in Memphis, a quarter-final showing in 2015.

Next up for the American is Mikhail Kukushkin, who stormed to a 6-3, 6-0 victory over qualifier Darian King. Johnson leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-1, but they haven’t played in two years.