May 27, 2012
Tournament Central
ATHENS, Ga.- Senior Bradley Klahn's impressive singles run at the 2012 NCAA Tennis Championships came to an end on Sunday afternoon, falling 6-4, 7-5 to USC's Steve Johnson in the semifinals.
Seeking his second career NCAA singles title after also winning the championship in Athens two years ago, Klahn fell short in his third contest against Johnson this year.
However, Klahn played a highly-competitive match and battled to the end against Johnson, the nation's top-ranked player who is also riding a historic 70-match winning streak. The defending NCAA singles champion, Johnson's last loss came against Klahn.
Klahn, who had already defeated a pair of top-10 players en route to Sunday's semifinal appearance, was looking sharp through his first four matches of the tournament. Despite carrying an uncharacteristically low ranking at No. 36 mainly due to missing time from injury, Klahn nevertheless commanded the attention of his opponents.
Klahn wrapped up a shortened senior year at 18-6 overall and 14-5 in duals. Returning to the court in mid-February after missing the early portion of the year due to injury, Klahn anchored the No. 1 spot in Stanford's lineup and posted a 12-3 mark at that position.
A three-time All-American in both singles and doubles, Klahn closed out a tremendous career in which he posted a 130-34 overall singles record. In duals, Klahn compiled a 60-22 ledger.
- - - - - - -
On today's match...
"It was a tough match today, obviously. Steve played really solid on the big points. You don't win over 70 straight matches without having a lot of confidence. It was a tough way to end my career, but Steve and I go way back, so I wish him the best of luck tomorrow."
On confidence in the match...
"That first game [of the match] I did not have any break points, but I really made him work on his serve. I needed that extra spark in my step. I got down in the second, but I was able to claw my way back. I just kept telling myself to compete."
USC's Steve Johnson
On playing Bradley Klahn...
"At this point we know each other's games so well. It's who can hit those special shots to get the break. I played smart. I served really smart. I think that was the key, knowing I could hold easy and take my chances on his serve."
- - - - - - -
No. 36 Bradley Klahn
First Round: d. No. 4 Jarmere Jenkins (Virginia) 7-5, 6-3
Second Round: d. No. 27 Remi Boutillier (Fresno State) 6-1, 6-1
Round of 16: d. No. 10 Chase Buchanan (Ohio State) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
Quarterfinals: d. No. 14 Nik Scholtz (Mississippi) 6-1, 6-3
Semifinals: lost to No. 1 Steve Johnson (USC) 6-4, 7-5
No. 29 Ryan Thacher
First Round: lost to No. 40 Gonzalo Escobar (Texas Tech) 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 4 Bradley Klahn and Ryan Thacher
First Round: d. No. 55 Niall Fitzgerald/Casey Watt (Notre Dame) 6-4, 7-6 (2)
Round of 16: d. No. 16 Henrique Cunha/Chris Mengel (Duke) 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2
Quarterfinals: lost to No. 10 Costin Paval/Dane Webb (Oklahoma) 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-3