18. Bitter Swede day for Johansson, Bjorkman

STOCKHOLM: One Swede ended his retirement with a victory and another hastened the end of his career with a defeat at the Stockholm Open on Tuesday. Joachim Johansson, a former top-10 player who retired a year ago due to a shoulder injury, won in his first match since last year’s Open when he beat Nicolas Mahut of France 7-5, 7-6 (7-5). The 26-year-old Johansson fired 20 aces, and didn’t want to think about his next match against top-seeded David Nalbandian. “To play in front of the family, the Sodertalje fans and everyone else ... it is totally unbeatable,’’ Johansson told news agency TT. “I did not feel my shoulder at all.’’ However, Jonas Bjorkman, who was retiring after this season, played his last singles on home soil when... [read full story]