Wimbledon (Grass) – Steve Johnson advanced to the fourth round at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career after taking out #37 Grigor Dimitrov in four sets. The match started on Friday and Johnson was serving up 4-3 in the first set when the rain came and suspended the match for the rest of the day. When play resumed today Johnson held for 5-3 but Dimitrov held and then broke from 15/40 to even it at 5-5. The set went to a tiebreak and Johnson had a set point up 6-5* but Dimitrov took the next three points to take the set 7-6(6).

The second set was break-free but Johnson rolled through the tiebreak 7-3. Johnson jumped out to a double-break 3-0 lead in the third set and despite giving one break back he’d take the set 6-4. Johnson broke Dimitrov to start the fourth set and then broke again at love to go up 5-2. Following another rain delay Johnson served it out after fighting off three breaks points to win it 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-2.

Third Round
#29 Steve Johnson (USC ’12) def. #37 Grigor Dimitrov 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-2
[18] #17 John Isner (Georgia ’07) vs. [12] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-7(5), susp.

Fourth Round
#29 Steve Johnson (USC ’12) vs. [3] Roger Federer

#551 Roberto Quiroz (USC ’15) won his third career Futures singles title, second this year, with a straight set win over #727 Gonzalo Villanueva in the finals of the $10K Cali, Colombia, F3 Futures (Clay). 

Quiroz started off the match in a 3-0 hole but then won 12 of the next 13 games to win it 6-3, 6-1

Quiroz also won the doubles title on Friday when he and Luis Patino defeated Juan Gomez and Cristian Rodriguez 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7). It was Quiroz’s 15th career doubles title, 5th this year, and was the second consecutive week that he and Patino won a title in Colombia.

Roberto has been on a tear in his last six tournaments winning six titles (2 singles/4 doubles) with a 21-4 record in singles and 16-1 record in doubles.

Gran semana en Cali.Campen en singles (2da del ao) y dobles con Luis Patio (5to del ao). Agradecer a @Raul_Viver pic.twitter.com/eevCsE170G

Roberto Quiroz Gomez (@RobertoQuirozG) July 2, 2016

$25K Wichita, KS, USA F23 (Hard) 

Jared Hiltzik advanced to his second career Futures singles final with a straight set win over Dominik Koepfer. Hiltzik broke Koepfer in a one-deuce game to start the match and then broke again in a two-deuce game to make it 3-0. Koepfer finally got on the board at 1-4 when he fought off four break points to hold in a four-deuce game but Hiltzik held two more times to take the opening set 6-2. Hiltzik broke Koepfer from 30/40 to start the second set but Koepfer returned the favor and broke from 15/40 to even it at 1-1. They exchanged breaks at 3-3 and then Hiltzik broke from 30/40 to go up 6-5. Hiltzik served it out from 40/15 to win it 6-2, 7-5.

Hiltzik’s one previous final came last July in Godfrey, Illinois, when he lost 7-5 in the third to Michael Mmoh. 

Cameron Norrie won his ninth match in a row with a come from behind three set win over the #5 seed Sekou Bangoura. Norrie held at love to start the match and then there were four straight breaks (with neither server having a game point) until Bangoura held from 40/15 to even it at 3-3. Bangoura broke from 15/40 to go up 5-4 and then he held at love to take the opening set 6-4.

Norrie started off the second set by coming back from 0/40 down to hold on a four-deuce game in which he faced five break points. Norrie then broke from 30/40 to go up 2-0 but Bangoura broke back at love to make it 2-1. Norrie fought off another four break points to hold in a four-deuce game to go up 4-3 and then a few games later he’d break Bangoura from 15/40 to take the second set 6-4.

Bangoura broke Norrie to start the third set but Norrie broke back to even it at 1-1. Bangoura would break from 30/40 to go up 3-2 and then he would hold for 4-2. Bangoura would lead 5-3 before Norrie held from 40/15 and then broke from 30/40 to even it at 5-5. Norrie held at love for 6-5 and then broke from 30/40 to close it out 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Norrie will be playing in his fourth career Futures final (2-1) and will be trying to win for the second tournament in a row. Norrie and Hiltzik haven’t met before in a pro event though Hiltzik won the two meetings in college. Hiltzik won 7-6(6), 6-1 in a consolation match at the 2014 National Indoor Intercollegiates and 6-4, 6-2 this past January at the Three Oaks Shootout in Fort Myers, Florida.

Semifinals
#640 Cameron Norrie (TCU Rising Jr) def. [5] #252 Sekou Bangoura (Florida ’11) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
#596 Jared Hiltzik (Illinois ’16) def. [Q] #1825 Dominik Koepfer (Tulane ’16) 6-2, 7-5

It wasn’t a good day in Pittsburgh as both guys with college ties were bounced in the semifinals. Former Columbia Lion Winston Lin dropped the opening set to the #2 seed Kaichi Uchida but he broke to take a 4-2 lead in the second. Lin led 40/15 on his 4-2 service game but Uchida won four straight points to get the break. The set ended up going to a tiebreak with Uchida taking the first mini-break to go up 3-1. Lin got it back on serve at 3-4 but Uchida took the next three points to close it out 6-2, 7-6(3).

The semifinal result matched Lin’s previous best result which was a semifinal at the Buffalo, New York, Futures last June.

Virginia rising senior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski faced the #5 seed Jose (Rubin) Statham. Thai-Son earned the first break of the match when he went up 2-1 but Statham broke back at love to even it at 2-2. Statham broke again, from 15/40, to go up 4-2 and he’d ultimately take the first set 6-3. Thai-Son held to start the second set and then there would be eight breaks in a row. Thai-Son got the seventh break of the set to go up 5-3 and then he led 40/15 on his serve but Statham won the next four points to break for 4-5. There would be three straight holds to send it to a tiebreak and then Statham got the first mini-break to go up 3-2. Statham won four of the next five points to close it out 6-3, 7-6(3).

Kwiatkowski has now made the semifinals in three of the last four events that he’s played and has a 9-4 record this summer.

Semifinals
[5] #527 Jose Statham def. #1096 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA Rising Sr) 6-3, 7-6(3)
[2] #451 Kaichi Uchida def. #787 Winston Lin (Columbia ’15) 6-2, 7-6(3)

$25K Kelowna, Canada, F4 (Hard) – Ray Sarmiento (USC ’14) advanced to his second career Futures final when he defeated #464 Sebastien Boltz in straight sets. Sarmiento jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set but Boltz held, broke, and held to even it at 3-3. Sarmiento then won the next seven games to close out the first set 6-3 and go up 4-0 in the second. Boltz held for 1-4 but Sarmiento held for 5-1 and broke from 30/40 to win it 6-3, 6-1. Next up for Sarmiento is the winner of the Peter Polansky/Blake Mott match.

$42.5K Marburg, Germany, Challenger (Clay) – James Cerretani (Brown ’04) won his third doubles title this year, 25th overall, when he and Phillip Oswald defeated Max Schnur (Columbia ’15) and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (Texas ’09) 6-3, 6-2.

$10K Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, F13 (Hard) – Jarmere Jenkins (Virginia ’13) and Anderson Reed (Florida State ’13) won their first doubles title as a team with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Alessandro Bega and Francesco Vilardo. It was Jenkins eighth career doubles title and first since 2014 while it was Reed’s fifth career title and second this year.

$10K Curtea De Agres, Romania, F8 (Clay) – #382 Dragos Dima (Cornell ’12) advanced to his fourth final this year (3-0) after defeating #317 Juan Pablo Paz 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Dima, who spent a semester at Cornell in the fall of 2012, will meet #570 Miliaan Niesten in the finals.