Johnson made to work
American Steve Johnson and sixth seed Pablo Cuevas did not let the late change of opponents knock them off their game as they advanced to the second round of the ASB Classic.
Johnson and Cuevas were among of four matches affected by the string of withdrawals that have hit the tournament over the last two days.
After eighth seed Andrey Rublev and Britain’s Kyle Edmund pulled out on Monday, Johnson’s original opponent, compatriot Ryan Harrison opted not to play due to tiredness, while Argentine Guido Pella withdrew with a shoulder injury.
All of the singles matches on Centre Court had lucky losers playing in them with Harrison replaced by Italian Liam Caruana.
The 18-year-old acquitted himself well, making Johnson, who reached the semifinals last year, work much harder than expected.
Caruana took the second set to a tiebreaker but Johnson’s experience came to the fore, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before closing out the match 7-5 7-6 in 1 hour 44 minutes.
In the opening match of the day, Cuevas was due to meet Pella only for the latter to be replaced by Japan’s Taro Daniel.
There was a nervous moment for Cuevas, and the organisers no doubt, as he received treatment for a leg injury.
But the Uruguayan shook it off before cruising to a 6-3 6-2 victory.