Mardy Fish pro tennis event: Garrett Johns playing with confidence after ITF success

VERO BEACH --- Garrett Johns dominated the ITF World Tennis Tour last year so to say he brought confidence to the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundations Tennis Championships would be an understatement.

Winning breeds confidence and vice-versa. Johns, 23, won four ITF $25,000 doubles titles and three ITF $15,000 singles titles last year while taking a year off from Duke University.

“It definitely did a lot for the confidence, coming through those tournaments when I play these tournaments,’’ said Johns, the second seed from Atlanta who humbled Alexander Razeghi, 17, of Humble, Texas, 6-3, 6-4 Thursday on Stadium Court at the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness at Timber Ridge to advance to the final eight of this ITF $15,000 Pro Circuit event.

Johns, who is moving to Boca Raton where he will train with coach Noel Wadau, will next play another 17-year-old, wild card Rudy Quan of Sacramento in a quarterfinal match on Friday. Quan, who displays uncanny speed and a huge forehand, edged close friend and fellow 17-year-old Cooper Woestendick of Olathe, Kan., 6-3, 6-2. Woestendick is still in the doubles with Razeghi.

“[Johns'] consistency is really good,’’ said Razeghi, 17, whose ranked 1266 and has won six Gold Balls for winning USTA national junior tournaments, including the 16-and-under Easter Bowl. “He doesn’t really give you anything and he attacks from both sides. On the important points he was locked in and made me play every ball.”

Razeghi, who will attend Stanford this Fall, was hurt when he double faulted on break point at 3-3 of the first set. Then serving at 4-5 of the second set, Johns hit a nifty topspin lob for a winner to set up match point which he immediately captured on a Razeghi’s left-handed forehand into the net.

“After this college season I’m going to give the pros a go for at least two years,’’ said Johns, ranked 478, and an All-American in singles last year.

Woestendick won his first ATP ranking point in his first-round victory over Jake van Emburgh, but on Thursday was unable to recover from a service break at 2-3 of the first set when Quan ripped a cross-court forehand past him.

“I was happy and excited to get that first point. … I was playing well but Rudy played too good today,’’ said Woestendick, who will attend Texas Christian University in the Fall of 2025. “It felt like I couldn’t do anything against him. He moves extremely well and is so tough to get the ball past him. He stays on top of the baseline and if I hit one weak ball, the point is pretty much over, and he hits a winner.”

The pals occasionaly train together at the USTA National Campus in Orlando and share a history of winning the first two prestigious J-300 Indian Wells tournaments held during the ATP and WTA Master 1000 event every March. Woestendick won the Junior Australian Open doubles titles earlier this year.

“I got him in the semis there last year,’’ smiled Woestendick, who won the inaugural Indian Wells event in 2023, but Quan won it last month.

Quan, who will attend UCLA this fall, isn’t intimidated by Johns.

“I have to focus on myself and on the things that I have to do,’’ said Quan, who celebrated match point by turning around to his father/coach and “best friend,” Robert Quan by raising his fist and shouting, “Yes!”

On Wednesday, qualifier Ryan Haviland, who runs Haviland Tennis Academy in Greenville, S.C., and is 43 years young, became the second oldest player currently on the ATP to earn a singles ranking point after defeating Miguel Cabrera of Chile, in a three-hour, 23-minute marathon to reach the second round. He was set to play, 20-year-old Victor Lilov (ranked 606).

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Mardy Fish pro tennis event: Garrett Johns playing with confidence after ITF success