Aegon Open Nottingham, Great Britain

Men’s Semi-final: [38] Steve Johnson (USA) vs. [57] Andreas Seppi (ITA)

Pulling double duty because of rain, Johnson had to get by the number one seed, Kevin Anderson, to get to the semifinals.  Anderson led their head to head-to-head 4:2; however, this was their first meeting on grass and Anderson is just finding his game after injury had sidelined him for several months.  Johnson’s confidence also not at its highest following a string of questionable losses is hoping that he has rediscovered his form on grass and is playing some of his best tennis since the Australian Open.  After completing his rain delayed quarterfinal match, he had to come back  later in the day to play Seppi in the semifinals.

Johnson showed his physical fitness and his improved confidence against Seppi, who is also struggling to find his game after being sidelined by injury  and was clearly no match for Johnson.  Johnson played consistently clean tennis, keeping his errors low and served very well.  It’s never easy to step on court and produce your best tennis after a period of struggling but if you have the right coaching and a positive attitude, it can be done.  I think Johnson has a very calm disposition and processes his losses in a rational manner without too much unnecessary negative emotion and that helps him in the end to take it one match at a time.  He won 6-4, 6-4 and will play in his second career singles final.  He’s been here before and if he has learned from his mistakes he may well be hoisting the trophy tomorrow.