American Steve Johnson gets Wimbledon wild card
The 100th-ranked Johnson will be playing in the singles at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament for the first time since becoming a full-time professional last summer. He won the ATP Challenger title at Nottingham last week to earn his wild card, which was announced on Tuesday.
Steve Johnson of the United States joined Frenchman Nicolas Mahut and seven British players invited to compete in the men's and women's singles as a wild card at Wimbledon.
The 100th-ranked Johnson will be playing in the singles at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament for the first time since becoming a full-time professional last summer. He won the ATP Challenger title at Nottingham last week to earn his wild card, which was announced Tuesday.
Mahut, loser of the longest match in tennis history, had already been granted his invitation. The French player lost 70-68 in the fifth set to John Isner in a first-round Wimbledon match three years ago that stretched over three days.
Mahut and fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra lost in the French Open doubles final to Mike and Bob Bryan of the United States.
Also receiving wild cards for the tournament starting June 24 were British duo James Ward and Kyle Edmund. The 18-year-old Edmund won his first match on the ATP tour at the Aegon International this week. The other male player invited is Matthew Ebden of Australia, who won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open in January with Jarmila Gajdosova.
The women's wild cards include five British players: Elena Baltacha, Anne Keothavong, Johanna Konta, Tara Moore and Samantha Murray. The others are Lucie Hradecka of Czech Republic, Andrea Petkovic of Germany and Alison Riske of the United States.