No. 7 seed Johnson falls in Napa Challenger

Seventh-seeded Steve Johnson lost to Michael Venus of New
Zealand in the first round of the Napa Valley Challenger.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Michael Venus of New Zealand upset seventh-seeded Steve Johnson of Orange, Calif., 7-6 (4), 6-4 today in the first round of the $50,000 Napa Valley Challenger at the Napa Valley Country Club.
   Johnson, who won two NCAA singles and four team titles at USC from 2009 to 2012, had beaten Venus 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the $50,000 Winnetka (Ill.) Challenger in July in their only previous meeting.
   Venus, a 25-year-old former LSU All-American, will meet the winner of Tuesday's match between Robby Ginepri of Kennesaw, Ga., and Nicolas Barrientos of Colombia.
   Ginepri, 30, is the only active U.S. man to have reached a Grand Slam singles semifinal, losing to Andre Agassi in five sets in 2005.
   Ginepri, who climbed to a career-high No. 15 in the world in 2006, has plunged to No. 229. The right-hander broke his left elbow in September 2010 when he fell off his bicycle trying to avoid a squirrel and missed 10 months.
   The top three seeds in the Napa Valley Challenger -- Americans Denis Kudla, Tim Smyczek and Rhyne Williams, respectively -- won easily in the first round. Williams dispatched Collin Altamirano, a 17-year-old wild card from Elk Grove in the Sacramento area, 6-2, 6-2.
   In the final round of qualifying, former Sacramento State star Kiryl Harbatsiuk lost to third-seeded Jesse Witten of Naples, Fla., 6-4, 6-1. Witten avenged a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 loss to Harbatsiuk, a native of Minsk, Belarus, living in Sacramento, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the final round of qualifying in the 2010 Tiburon Challenger.
   Here are links to the Napa singles, doubles and qualifying draws and Tuesday's schedule:
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/singles_draw265.PDF
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/doubles_draw288.PDF
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/qualifying_draw285.PDF
   http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/schedule288.PDF