February 4, 2025

Open Court

MORE TENNIS THAN YOU'LL EVER NEED

IW ’17 pics: Pospisil and Johnson advance in dubs

INDIAN WELLS – Things aren’t only beginning to head in the right direction for Vasek Pospisil in singles. He also has it going a little in doubles despite the loss of planned 2017 partner Radek Stepanek.

Pospisil and American Steve Johnson, who played together once before on grass back in 2013, reunited at Indian Wells this week and entertained a highly partisan Can-American crowd with their 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 win over Marcin Matkowski of Poland and Alexander Peya of Austria Friday night.

Here are a few shots from that.

Johnson might not be a classic doubles player, but his restaurant-quality athletic ability helped him run and backpedal and scramble and backtrack all over the court, absolutely giving it his all. The crowd loved it. They won’t know who the identity of their next opponents until Sunday.

He is the only Canadian left in the tournament, after Daniel Nestor and French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin went out in the first round of doubles Saturday.

They got a pretty brutal draw – No. 4 seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares. And although they made it close, they ultimately fell 6-7 (4), 6-2 [10-3]

The Canadian has a heftier task Saturday night, on the big stadium court against the No. 1 player in the world.

 

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