Schnur Battles Past Johnson to Reach Final Eight on Long Island

February 14, 2019 | By Brian Coleman
Brayden Schnur (5)_CROP
Photo Credit: Sidney Beal III/Clique Photography

 

Just the day before, Brayden Schnur won the first ATP Tour main draw match of his career.

Now the Canadian qualifier finds himself in the New York Open quarterfinals after outlasting third-seed Steve Johnson 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) on Wednesday night.

“It feels great, I’m really happy,” Schnur said afterwards. “I’m really looking forward to going back and calling my parents and celebrating this win with them, and obviously my coach because I’m here alone this week so I can’t celebrate with anyone here, but I’m looking forward to that call when I get back to the locker room.”

Schnur’s week on Long Island has been a bit of whirlwind. Still recovering from being sick, the former University of North Carolina star had to win two qualifying matches just to reach the main draw.

And after winning the opening set on Wednesday night, Schnur fell down a break in the third set, and even stared down a match point. But he outdueled Johnson in the deciding tiebreaker to notch the biggest win of his career.

“Obviously Stevie played some good points to break me, especially in that second game in the third,” said Schnur. “But I just knew I had to make returns and obviously the hardest game for him to hold is the last one of the match, so I just hung in there and put some pressure on him.”

Schnur now takes on Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi for a spot in the semifinals. Lorenzi ousted American Ryan Harrison 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 earlier in the day.

Click Here to see the full results from the New York Open on Wednesday, and the order of play for Thursday.

 


Brian Coleman

 Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com

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