Isner ousts Blake in epic

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Isner ousts Blake in epic

Third seed John Isner thundered 30 aces past compatriot James Blake in the three-set second term epic at the Atlanta tournament, beating him 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 to set a yen Hsun Lu clash in the quarter finals.

Isner grabbed only two breaks from the American veteran who could only convert one of eight break point chances. The first breaker saw Isner pushed to extremes as he clinched the opener at eight in what could have been an early scare for the favortite. The second set found Blake taking the leveler also thanks to a breaker which the won at five, pushing the game into a tight decider. Finally, the third term brought Isner a late break, which helped him claim the victory in nearly three hours.

Nest up for the world number 35 is Yen Hsun Lu who also follows a three-set win against Marinko Matosevic of Australia whom, he defeated after facing an early scare, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Previous to this, the Aussie had ousted Matthias Bachinger 7-5, 7-6. Isner is eyeing his second title of the season in Atlanta, after the Newport success.

The American, who is likely to make another good figure in Atlanta, looks confident with his near future: “I still think my best tennis is 2-3 years ahead of me because I don’t really have the miles on me that a lot of guys here have since they were 18. I take care of myself really well, being so big it’s something I’ve just gotta do. I expect to play for a lot more time,” he said at the start of the tournament.

On the same second half of the draw, second seed Kevin Anderson has reached the quarter finals after beating Michael Russell 6-1, 7-5. The South African will next meet Gilles Muller of Luxembourg who edged Robby Ginepri in three sets, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2. Previous to that win, he had upset American Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-3, 7-6.

Anderson fired ten aces past Russelland set a 68 first serve percentage, compared to his opponent’s 59 percent and two aces. The South African also broke him four times and managed to save the only break point opportunity the American created. Lleyton Hewitt has also made an easy progress after the Aussie beat unseed Philip Simmonds 6-4, 6-4 to meet Rajeev Ram in the second round. The American stunned Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4 and will meet Hewitt for the first time.

Top seed Mardy Fish is to meet Nicolas Mahut in the second round, who follows a 7-6, 6-2 win against Richard Berankis. Fish has been favored by a BYE in the first round and will make his debut against the Frenchman. Tatsuma Ito of Japan ousted Michael Berrer of Germany 7-6, 6-4 to face Somdev Devvarman in the second term. The Indian has advanced through after edging Ryan Sweeting 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Finally, Xavier Malisse is to make his Atlanta debut against Ryan Harrison who eliminated Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 7-6 in the previous round. Harrison hit four aces past the Japanese whom he also broke twice after creating 13 break point chances. The American finished the game with a 61 first serve percentage, compared to Sugita who had a 57 percentage and committed three double faults.

Atlanta Prize Money and points:

Winner – $96,800 and 250 points ATP

Runner-up – $50,900 and 150 points ATP

Semi finalist – $27,600 and 90 points ATP

Quarter finalist – $15,730 and 45 points ATP

R16 – $9,265 and 20 points ATP

R32 – $5,500 and zero points

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