PARIS—Former college tennis star Steve Johnson says he has matured and thinks he has a shot at beating No. 8 Stan Wawrinka in the third round at Roland Garros.
The 25-year-old American has reached the third round of a Grand Slam twice before, losing to Richard Gasquet at the 2012 U.S. Open and to Kei Nishikori at this year’s Australian Open. The world No. 56 entered the French Open with a 15-13 record in 2015. In Paris, he upset 25th-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 3-6, 6-3, and defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky in round two, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6).
“I've never played Stan, never hit with Stan,” Johnson said. “It’s one of those things, couple years ago I would’ve been so happy to get to the third round. It’s like, ‘Great. I exceeded expectations by getting to this point.’ In my mind I’m here to win. I’m not here to be complacent making it to Friday.
“I’m going to walk out on the court on Friday or whatever with the mentality that I’m going to come out a winner. That’s just the way I think everybody views sports. I think every guy in the locker room walks out on the court knowing they have a chance to win. I think that’s what makes the game so fun.”
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