Breakers’ Johnson steps up on emotional night

Steve Johnson had a long and emotional day on Saturday, and it ended in a place with which Johnson is very familiar.

Johnson was on the tennis court for the Orange County Breakers of World Team Tennis. He was doing battle with Marcus Willis of the New York Empire, after doing battle with his emotions earlier in the day while remembering his father.

A celebration of life for Steve Johnson Sr. was held Saturday morning at Johnson’s alma mater of Orange High. The Breakers had a moment of silence before the match for Johnson Sr., a former Breakers assistant coach who passed away unexpectedly in May at the age of 58, and wore a special logo on their uniform in remembrance of him.

“Stevie” Johnson had plenty of friends and family there Saturday night, including his mother Michelle, sister Alison and fiance Kendall. At the end of this long day, Breakers coach Rick Leach put Johnson’s men’s singles set last, tasking him with closing the match out against the Empire.

“[I was] a little bit fried, emotionally and mentally,” Johnson said. “I was just trying to get through it and hang on for the team, get a win.”

Willis won that final set in a tiebreaker, sending the match into extended play. After he won a game there, though, Johnson was quick to shut the door.

He fired two aces and two service winners in his last service game and the Breakers earned a 24-18 victory at Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach.

Johnson fired a tennis ball way out of the stadium, in the direction of Jamboree Road, in celebration.

“It was time to finish him off and get out of here,” said Johnson, who has two more home matches at Palisades on Sunday and Monday that will conclude his season. “You get on the tennis court, you’re always reminded of [my dad]. The love and support of your friends and family, it makes a big difference.”

Leach said the match was emotional for the rest of the team as well. In the end, the Breakers (2-3) earned a win and pulled within a match of first place in World Team Tennis. Philadelphia, Washington and San Diego are all tied for first with a 3-2 mark.

New York, which had edged the Breakers 23-21 on Thursday, fell to 3-3.

Leach also cracked up a bit after the match when talking about the impact of Johnson Sr.

“It’s tough,” Leach said. “We got through it, though. He was a mentor to all of us. Everybody liked him so much … I think we all wanted to win.

“I don’t know how [Johnson played tonight]. He’s just such a great guy, and he’s so good for the sport. He’s an amazing person. We’re so lucky to have him on our team.”

The Breakers were also fortunate to have a strong performance from Yanina Wickmayer in women’s singles to open the match. Wickmayer blanked her fellow Belgian, Kirsten Flipkens, 5-0, to give the Breakers the early advantage.

It was the first women’s singles win of the season for Wickmayer, who was playing in her third match. Flipkens came into Saturday leading the league in women’s singles.

“It was nice to get the rhythm going,” Wickmayer said. “It’s my first year of World Team Tennis, so the first two matches were a bit stressful for me to get into the rhythm. But I felt good today, I played well and I’m happy I got the team going.”

Flipkens and Maria Sanchez came back for a 5-4 tiebreaker victory over Wickmayer and Andreja Klepac in women’s doubles, before Johnson and Ken Skupski edged Willis and Neal Skupski, also in a 5-4 tiebreaker, in men’s doubles. That made the match score 14-9 at halftime, in favor of Orange County.

Ken Skupski and Klepac beat Neal Skupski and Flipkens, 5-3, in mixed doubles, setting the state for Johnson to close out the match.

It took a bit longer than some might have thought, but close it out he did. And the win was big for the Breakers, who play again at home against Springfield on Sunday at 5 p.m. before entertaining San Diego on Monday at 6 p.m. The latter match is the lone home appearance of the season for Breakers marquee player Maria Sharapova.

“[Saturday’s match] was really a must-win for us,” Leach said. “It’s so difficult to win on the road in World Team Tennis, and so I think this helps us a lot, gives us some momentum. Hopefully it carries over to [Sunday]. There’s a lot of parity in this league, and I think we can beat anybody on any given night. We’ve just got to win some matches, and tonight is a step in the right direction.

“I like the way we’re fighting. I think everybody is getting better, so that’s good.”

[email protected]

Twitter: @mjszabo