Weve played much better down here than we did back home in

WASHINGTON -- After playing doubles past midnight and getting to sleep at about 3 a.m., Steve Johnson was less than thrilled to be playing in the first Citi Open mens match in the main stadium at 4 p.m. Thursday.Still, showing the sort of progress that has lifted his ranking to a career-high 25th, Johnson played quality first-strike tennis and ended qualifier Ryan Harrisons season-best run by winning the all-American matchup 6-4, 6-4 to reach the hard-court tournaments quarterfinals.I was lucky enough to be on the schedule first today. Just good turnaround, the fifth-seeded Johnson said, his words thick with sarcasm. Got a few hours of sleep. Just get back up. Thats life. Hopefully, the ATP and those guys dont do that much anymore, because I dont think its fair. Its up to those guys. Theyve got to do what theyve got to do.Tournament director Jeff Newman said the scheduling was affected by rain that washed out play earlier in the week and court assignments are based on various factors such as a television perspective, a fan perspective, how the draws are matched up.Every player wants to play in a certain position. You try to take feedback and weigh it all, Newman said. Some players will be happy; some people would prefer other spots.Johnson, a member of the U.S. Olympic team headed to Rio de Janeiro next month, broke Harrison once in each set, did not face a break point himself and ended the match with a 130 mph ace.A two-time NCAA singles champion in 2011 and 2012, and a member of Southern California teams that won four consecutive national titles, Johnson earned his first ATP trophy at Nottingham, England, last month, then backed that up by making his fourth-round debut at a Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon.I knew I was capable always of winning a title -- and, hopefully, multiple titles, Johnson said. Once you win it, then you know what it feels like, you know what its like to be serving for a title. You get to those situations a little bit more and you just hopefully become more comfortable.On Friday, Johnson will face top-seeded John Isner, who hit serves at up to 143 mph, produced 16 aces and never faced a break point in a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over No. 15 Marcos Baghdatis. This will be the third year in a row that Americans Johnson and Isner meet in Washington; Johnson won in 2014, and Isner did in 2015, both decided by a third-set tiebreaker.Hell tell you this much: He was playing pretty poorly the first five months of the year. Wasnt getting much going. But he turned the corner (in June), Isner said. Hes carried that confidence over to here. Hes just like anyone else: When he gets confidence on his side, he starts going for his shots and his shots start finding the right spots.Also Thursday, No. 2-seeded Gael Monfils overwhelmed No. 16 Borna Coric 6-2, 6-3, No. 13 Ivo Karlovic hit 21 aces and eliminated No. 3 Bernard Tomic 7-6 (4), 6-3, No. 6 Jack Sock beat Dan Evans 6-1, 7-5, No. 7 Alexander Zverev got past Malek Jaziri 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, and No. 8 Sam Querrey took the last five games in a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over 2012 champion Alexandr Dolgopolov.In womens action, third-seeded Monica Puig lost to Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-2, fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic beat 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-3, Risa Ozaki edged Naomi Broady 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, and Camila Giorgi advanced when Tamira Paszek withdrew before their match because of an upper respiratory infection.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Discount Football Jerseys Throwback . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Sale Football Jerseys Throwback . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. http://www.cheapfootballthrowback.com/ . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Custom Football Jerseys Throwback .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. Stitched Football Jerseys Throwback . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- For much of the night, Seton Hall had its hands full with Quinnipiac.The Pirates got 23 points and 11 rebounds from Desi Rodriguez, but also needed a late spark from Michael Nzei to finish off a 90-79 victory in the AdvoCare Invitational at Disney World on Friday night.Nzei had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Pirates (4-1), including a crucial four-point play that gave his team some breathing room after Quinnipiac trimmed a double-digit deficit to two with less than 10 minutes to go.Mike was great, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said, adding thats hes also been impressed by the way Tom Moore has Quinnipiac playing in this tournament.The Bobcats (0-4) also challenged No. 11 Gonzaga in its opening game.Tommy is doing a great job. Hes got a young team. They play hard. They play really aggressive defense, Willard said. I told him after the game, if your kids keep playing like that youre going to win a lot of games.Quinnipiac took an early 10-point lead before Rodriguez scored eight points in a 10-0 burst that jump-started Seton Hall, which outscored the Bobcats 36-19 over the final 14 minutes of the opening half to lead 46-39 at the break.The Pirates built the lead to 15 in the second half, but didnt finally put the game away until after Peter Kiss keyed a 13-00 run that enabled Quinnipiac to cut its deficit to 62-60.ddddddddddddKiss made two long 3-pointers in the burst and finished with 19 points. Daniel Harris had 18 points and Chaise Daniels added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats.The tournament so far has been a step in the right direction, Moore said. Weve been kind of thrown into the deep end of the pool against some incredible programs. Weve played much better down here than we did back home in our first two losses.Khadeen Carrington had 17 for Seton Hall after scoring a career-best 28 in the Pirates opening-round loss.BIG PICTURESeton Hall: The Pirates, who faded down the stretch in a loss to Florida in the opening round, havent lost consecutive games against nonconference opponents since November 2011.Quinnipiac: The Bobcats also played No. 11 Gonzaga close for 15 minutes on Thursday, trailing by one before the Bulldogs scored nine straight to pull away to a 20-point win.UP NEXTSeton Hall: Meets Stanford in the fifth-place game on Sunday night.Quinnipiac: Faces Indiana State for seventh place on Sunday.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '