Johnson, who is now 35 years old but only turned professional in 2012 because he played college tennis, got the chance to face Nadal at the 2015 Madrid Masters. The year before, the American won two Challenger titles and 2015 was his first full year at the main level.
In his Madrid debut, Johnson defeated Alejandro Gonzalez in a three-set thriller after winning the tie-break in the deciding set. Next up for him was home favorite Nadal, whose clay dominance was well documented. The American ultimately lost 4-6 3-6 to the Spanish tennis icon, but he did not embarrass himself at all that day.
Johnson, who retired last year and now co-hosts a tennis podcast with Jack Sock, John Isner and Sam Querrey, noted that going into his match against Nadal he considered the Spaniard “the greatest competitor in history.” And that created some fear in his eyes.
Johnson: I was afraid of being double bagged and humiliated by Nadal
“I was very afraid of losing 6-0, 6-0 in front of a big crowd and being humiliated. My only goal that day was not to be humiliated. Luckily I won the first game, which calmed me down a bit. Because when you’re down 4-0, 5-0, when you lose the first set 6-0, there’s a panic,” the American admitted on the Nothing Major Show.
“There was a lot of fear in my eyes, but not much in his. He didn’t seem too bothered by my slices that day. Honestly, looking back, I wish it had happened. Losing 6-4, 6-3 was OK, but losing without winning a single match would have been hilarious, even ten years later.”
In the following years, Johnson won four ATP titles and reached a career-high ranking of No. 21 in the world, but he never played the legendary Spaniard again.
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