|
|
| 15 Dec 2000 | |
| No. 2 Seed Johansson taking one match at a time |
No. 2 Seed Johansson Taking One Match At A Time
Joachim Johansson, the No. 2 seed in the Boys 18s, appears to be the lucky recipient of placement in the bottom half of the Boys 18s draw sheet. The 6-6, 198-pound Swede with the big serve is the only top-10 seeded player to reach the quarterfinals in his half of the bracket. He meets Bruno Echagaray of Mexico on Friday.
In fact, the only other seeded player in that half the bracket remaining in contention for the Orange Bowl trophy is Bruno Soares (14) of Brazil. Meanwhile, No.1 seed Todor Enev of Bulgaria, who has not lost a set in three rounds, must get by No. 7 seed Janko Tipsarevic to reach the semis.
Johansson, who beat No. 9 seed Michael Lammer on Thursday, 6-2, 6-4, doesn't quite look at it that way. "All the players are good," he says. "It doesn't matter. Almost anyone can beat everyone. A little depends on the day the player is having."
Johansson came into the Orange Bowl after battling a flu bug he caught in Sweden, and says he wanted to be better prepared physically. "The first
match against the qualifier, it was hot and very hard not being used to it," he says. "But my fitness is getting better." How he can win his first Orange Bowl title? "I try to take one at a time" he says diplomatically. "And do my best."
Boys 18s Notes: Robby Ginepri, fresh off a U.S. win in the ITF Sunshine Cup last week, saw his world ranking jump to 24. Ginepri has continued his strong play, winning his first three matches in the OB, including a
first-round upset of Roman Valent. He plays No. 14 seed Bruno Soares of
Brazil in the quarterfinals.
Boys 16s Notes: Benjamin Rufer of Switzerland is the only qualifier to make it into the Boys 16s quarterfinals. He plays No. 6 seed Lamine Ouahab of Algeria on Friday.
^ Back to Top
|
