Teens Quinn, Montgomery, Hovde Qualify for BNP Paribas Open; Steve Johnson Announces Retirement; Ohio State Men, Oklahoma State Women Remain No. 1; Michigan State Tennis Receives $10 Million Gift
Three teenagers have advanced to the main draw of the BNP Paribas Open, with wild cards Ethan Quinn(Georgia), Liv Hovde and Robin Montgomery posting wins today over opponents with significantly higher ATP and WTA rankings.
NCAA singles champion Quinn, who turns 20 next week, came back to defeat ATP No. 133 Andrea Vassavori of Italy 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Currently 284 in the ATP rankings, Quinn will be making his ATP Masters 1000 main draw debut.
The 18-year-old Hovde, ranked 286, will be making her WTA debut after defeating WTA No. 91 Harriet Dart of Great Britain 6-2, 6-3. Hovde is now 2-0 against Dart, with her first win coming two years ago at a $60K.
2022 Wimbledon girls champion Hovde isn't the only former American junior slam winner to qualify, with Robin Montgomery, the 2021 US Open girls champion, beating WTA No. 122 Storm Hunter of Australia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Montgomery, 193 in the WTA rankings, will be looking for her second Masters win, with the 19-year-old claiming a victory last year in the first round in Miami.
Two former junior slam champions met in an all-US final round qualifying match, with Taylor Townsend, the 2012 Australian Open girls champion, coming from behind to beat reigning Wimbledon girls champion Clervie Ngounoue 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The other two American women qualifying for the main draw are Bernarda Pera, who beat Camila Osorio of Colombia 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 and Hailey Baptiste, who defeated Clara Tauson of Denmark 7-6(2), 7-6(3). Kayla Day and Claire Liu both fell in three sets in their final round qualifying matches.
The other American men qualifying are Denis Kudla, who beat Emilio Nava 6-2, 6-4, and Nicolas Moreno de Alboran(UC-Santa Barbara), who defeated Jurij Rodionov of Austria 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The 26-year-old Moreno de Alboran, who had lost in three sets to Rodionov at the ATP 250 in Bulgaria last November, will be making his ATP Masters 1000 debut.
Two-time Kalamazoo 18s champion Zachary Svajda lost in three sets to Lukas Klein of Slovakia.
Steve Johnson lost his opening match in qualifying last night in Indian Wells, with Emilio Nava saving seven match points to defeat the 34-year-old Californian 6-7(6), 7-6(10), 6-4. After the match Johnson announced his retirement, although he is still scheduled to compete in doubles at the BNP Paribas Open with Tommy Paul.
I've covered Johnson since the juniors (I'll be posting Throwback photos from his junior and college careers Thursday) and throughout his four years at USC, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone improve as much in those years. He got fit, he learned how to win and he started applying his considerable talent to leading the Trojans. I saw more matches of his than I can count, although I do know that I was there for all 16 of his matches in the 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 NCAA Team Championships, which USC won, of course, and all 12 of his NCAA singles matches when he won back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012.
Those accomplishments would put him at the top of any list of the greatest college players of all time; add to it the 72-match winning streak he had when he left college and there aren't many who will argue for another player. After he won the NCAA singles title in 2011 and received the US Open wild card, many thought he would leave, with a year of eligibility still remaining. But Johnson wanted to cement his already considerable legacy, and as the tension mounted in Athens in 2012, he met every challenge, first in the team championship and then in the singles, which began the next day.
Johnson then went on to the US Open, where he made the third round and continued to demonstrate, as John Isner and Kevin Anderson had done a few years before, that college was a viable developmental path and perhaps the best place to learn how to compete day-in, day-out.
Having shown himself to be unmatched in that department in college, Johnson went on to win four ATP titles and an Olympic bronze medal in doubles, reaching a career high of 21. He spoke to the ATP about the factors that led to his decision to retire in this article, and although he'll be missed on tour, Johnson knew the time had come for him to focus on his life after tennis.
The latest ITA Division I team and individual rankings were released today, with no change in the top spots; as long as the Oklahoma State women and Ohio State men remain undefeated they will continue to be No. 1 and even a loss might not affect them. The Virginia men took a big jump, from 8 to 3, after beating Wake Forest. Texas dropped out of the Top 10 after their loss to TCU, with Texas A&M moving into the Top 10, despite their 4-0 loss to Florida last weekend.
The Michigan women moved back to No. 2, with Stanford back to 3.The NC State women moved from 10 to 6, with USC dropping out of the Top 10 after their loss to UCLA and Georgia moving up to No. 10.
ITA Division I Men's Top Ten Team Rankings March 5, 2024
(previous ranking in parentheses, full list links in headings)
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