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ROLAND GARROSMay 28, 2014Steve JohnsonPARIS, FRANCE S. JOHNSON/L. Lokoli THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please. Q. How did you sleep last night? STEVE JOHNSON: It was good. You know, easier to sleep when you're up a break in the fifth to come back the next day when you fought back from down two sets and a couple breaks. It was good. Last night just went about my business as usual. Got up this morning and knew I had to come out and kind of close the door. Q. I didn't see much match of the match yesterday. Had you been pounding his backhand as much as you did in the finish today? STEVE JOHNSON: No, I didn't. Got a little bit away from what was working early in the match, and then I went back to his backhand towards the end of the day yesterday. Just kind of kept fighting and giving myself every chance I had. I was fortunate enough to save a couple match points and then win a breaker in the third and play a good fourth. It was a good day. Q. We couldn't hear anything, but we got the impression that with Wayne McKewen you were trying to tell him you would like to play on last night? STEVE JOHNSON: It was such a hard decision because they were saying we could maybe get one or two games in. If we're not going to finish, let's just stop. They were telling us that it was one game, maybe two. At 3‑1 in the fifth, it's just like, there is no point to stretch it if we're not going to finish. We just decided to call it‑‑ it was getting dark. Call it a day and come back tomorrow. That's kind of what the decision was. In the end it worked out. Q. Just talk about how you turned that match around. Obviously two sets down it was not looking... STEVE JOHNSON: Wasn't looking bright two sets and 4‑Love down. You know, I just kept fighting. Last week in Nice I had match points, served for the match three times and lost to Thiem in the first round. So I knew you're not out of it until you're out of it. It was just kind of a learning experience last week, and I used it this week and just kept fighting. Q. Talk a little bit about how much you were fighting the crowd. Obviously you were playing a Frenchman. STEVE JOHNSON: I try not to fight the crowd because I don't know how many people are out there. They were loud. That's the way it should be. It's great for him and great to get behind a French kid like that. You just stay calm and go about your business and not let it affect you in a negative way. Q. At some point yesterday did you honestly never think that the game was lost? STEVE JOHNSON: Yeah, no. I mean, I never thought I had lost. Even serving at 3‑5 down two match points, I just knew had to hold serve and give myself a chance to break back, which I did. Once I won the third, I knew it was a whole different ballgame, out came out and played a great fourth and got up an early break if the fifth. Q. Before fighting Lokoli, did you know he was beginning to be a kind of phenomenon here? People are talking about him more and more. STEVE JOHNSON: Yeah, of course. Everybody was talking about he saved match points I think in his qualifying, I think one of his matches. He was pretty excited about qualifying. And then the dance‑off with Monfils, you know, he got popular overnight. I knew the crowd would be behind him. That's just the way it is, so... Q. You broke the heart of millions of French guys. There was a time when the top three ranked Americans were college guys. What does that say to you? STEVE JOHNSON: I think it's great for college tennis. Bradley, John, myself, we all went to college for four years. We went that route and it's work out well for all of us. Just gives people another chance to or option rather than going pro at 16, 17 and maybe missing out on those experiences. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for going to SC for four years. I have nothing but thanks. I love being at SC when I go back home back to L.A. The coaches I'm still close with. Definitely a great step for me. Q. Why is it a more viable path now than maybe a while back? STEVE JOHNSON: I think the game is so mature now. It's tough for I think 17, 18, 19 year old kid to come out here and dominate like they did maybe a decade ago. Guys are bigger, stronger, tougher. It's not as easy. Not saying it can't be done, but it's not as easy. I think in college, at least for me, I got a chance to mature and realize what I wanted to di and what tennis meant to me. That was what I was going to do. Q. Did you watch dance‑off on YouTube? STEVE JOHNSON: Of course. Who didn't? I was glad I didn't have to dance with him. I would've lost easy. Q. When you get that kind of support that way he had, there is also an a lot of pressure. Did you think about that? Did you feel that maybe that would give you an advantage if you could stick with him and get him to blow himself out emotionally? STEVE JOHNSON: Yeah. I mean, I don't know how many five‑setters he's ever played or how long his longest match is, but I knew it's tough with the up and down that he ‑‑ the kind of energy he plays with, it's going to be tough to maintain that over three, four hours, whatever we played. I knew if I could hang in there long enough ‑ and it kind of showed I think in the end of fourth, beginning the fifth, he was a little tired and I was able to take advantage of it. But credit to him. He played well. I just fought back and didn't give up. Q. This was your first five setter too, wasn't it? STEVE JOHNSON: No, I lost six five setters, I think. I think I was 0‑6. But I won one last year in the wildcard tournament for Atlanta. I won a five setter also being down match points also in the fourth in the finals of that one. But this is my first five setter in a Grand Slam that I've won. I've lost a few, so glad to get one‑‑ get it off the back a little bit. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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