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 Cheap NCAA Jerseys China . LOUIS -- St. Cheap College Football Jerseys . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. http://www.cheapncaajerseysbywholesale.com/ . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Stitched NCAA Jerseys . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. College Jerseys Cheap . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. MADRID -- Even rivals are coming out to defend Neymar after his late-game antics got him into trouble in the Spanish league.The Brazil forward use his ball trickery in Barcelonas 5-1 win over Leganes last week, prompting a wave of criticism from people who accused him of showing off and trying to provoke opponents. Neymar appeared to ignore the un-written convention that top players should not make lesser opponents look foolish.Three key former players who turned coaches supported Neymar on Tuesday, the day before Barcelonas game against rival Atletico Madrid.Neymar has fun playing football. They can criticize him as much as they want, but he responds where he needs to respond, Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. He has his own style. He is an extraordinary player.With the victory safely secured on Saturday, Neymar used back-heel passes and other nifty moves against Leganes defenders. He scored one of the teams goals in the 44th minute and was fouled inside the area -- leading to a penalty kick converted by Lionel Messi in the 55th.Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he didnt think Neymar was disrespecting his opponents.I dont think he is trying to provoke anybody, the former France midfielder said. He can do things that not a lot of players can do. You would have to ask him directly, but I dont think its a provocation.Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said Neymars style shouldnt surprise anybody.He has been playing like this since he got here, Luis Enrique said. And we want him to keep his playing like this, we enjoy it. He is allowed by the rules to do what he does.---RENEWED RIVALRYBarcelona is bracing for another hard-fought match against Atletico Madrid.The teams meet Wednesday in the first big game of the season in Spain -- the first encounter between the clubs since Atletico eliminated Barcelona in the quarterfinals of last seasons Champions League.Theres never an easy match against Atletico. Its practically the same team that has succeeded in receent years, and it will continue to contend for titles, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said.dddddddddddd Its a direct rival. These are very important points that will be up for grabs.Barcelona is second in the standings with nine points, three less than leader Real Madrid. Atletico is fourth, four points behind Madrid after four rounds.Both teams have their top players available and are boosted by huge wins.Barcelona was stunned at home by promoted Alaves two weeks ago but rebounded with a 5-1 rout of Leganes on Saturday. It also trounced Celtic 7-0 in the Champions League. Atletico began the league with consecutive draws but picked up the pace with a 4-0 win at Celta Vigo and a 5-0 thrashing of Sporting Gijon.We will need to defend very well because Barcelona has a tremendous offensive power, said Simeone, who has never won at the Camp Nou as a coach.---REINFORCED MADRIDCristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are expected to return to Real Madrids starting lineup for the game against unbeaten Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. The Spanish powerhouse has a chance to set a record with its 17th straight league victory. Madrid is tied with Pep Guardiolas Barcelona from the 2010-11 season, which won 16 in a row.The record is nice and we will try to achieve it, especially because we want to keep adding points, coach Zinedine Zidane said.Madrid is the only team to have won all four matches to start the league and has a three-point lead over Barcelona and Las Palmas.Ronaldo and Bale were rested in the teams 2-0 win at Espanyol on Sunday after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.Zidane will not be able to count on defender Pepe because of a knee injury sustained at Espanyol.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni ' ' '