American roundup: Johnson and Opelka make New York final

Every week, Baseline will look at the American players that are making waves from the ATP and WTA. Many up-and-coming players and old favorites are continuously getting results on the ITF, ATP and WTA each week.

Here are this week's biggest American results:

1

Doubles finalist, New York

Steve Johnson united with Reilly Opelka last week to reach the doubles finals of the New York Open. Despite losing to Dominic Inglot and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, the American pair put up a strong fight in two tiebreakers. Johnson also defeated Sandgren in the singles draw, marking his first win of the 2020 season, but would lose in the next round.

2

Singles quarterfinalist and doubles finalist, New York

Opelka lost in the doubles finals alongside Johnson, but he managed to make it a little farther in singles. The American beat Yoshihito Nishioka in the round of 16, but, despite winning the first set against Jason Jung, the defending champion couldn't finish off the win.

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We’ve been waiting for this moment. #NYOpen | #NYOpen2020 | @atptour | @dominglot | @aisamhqureshi | @ReillyOpelka | @SJohnson_89 pic.twitter.com/PCOd5sAIAJ — #NYOpen (@NewYorkOpen) February 16, 2020

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3

Doubles finalist, St. Petersburg

Another doubles finalist this week, Kaitlyn Christian got together with Alexa Guarachi to make it all the way to the St. Petersburg final as the No. 3 seeds. They won the first set, but their form fell apart later in the match, resulting in a bagel and eventual loss.

4

Singles finalist, ITF W100 in Kentucky

You would be forgiven for not recognizing Claire Liu. The 19-year-old was the world No. 1 in the junior rankings before turning pro and has since competed primarily on the ITF tour. She made it to the final in Kentucky before losing to Olga Govortsova, but will continue to improve and surely add to her collection of four ITF titles.

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Congrats to Quinn Gleason & Catherine Harrison for winning the doubles title and Claire Liu for reaching the singles final at the Kentucky Open! #TeamUSATennis ???????? pic.twitter.com/8EWDa4ukmB — USTA (@usta) February 17, 2020

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5

Singles semifinalist, New York

Jung had a huge breakthrough at the New York Open where he won five matches, running from qualifying all the way to his first ATP 250 semifinal. Though playing for the Chinese Taipei, Jung was born and raised in California. He would score wins over big-serving giants Opelka and Kevin Anderson, both of whom have won the title before. The 30-year-old has moved up to No. 112 in the rankings.