Andy Murray vs John Isner: Quarterfinal Preview – US Open 2011
World number 4 Andy Murray of Great Britain will meet American John Isner, ranked 22nd in the world, in the quarterfinals of US Open at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Friday.
Murray thrashed unseeded Donald Young of USA in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 16. Whereas, Isner battled past twelfth seed Gilles Simon of France in four sets 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) to reach the quarterfinals.
This will be the second meeting between the Brit and Isner. Murray defeated the American in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 in the only previous meeting between these two in the fourth round at the Australian Open in 2010.
The Brit has a 38-10 win/loss record in this season. The right-handed was beaten in straight sets by Novak Djokovic of Serbia in straight sets 4-6, 2-6, 3-6 in the final of the Australian Open this year. After losing his third
straight grand slam final, Murray was disappointed and got into a bad patch. The Brit lost three straight matches after his loss in the title match of the Australian Open. However, the former world number 2 entered the final grand slam of the season in a great
form as he defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-0 RET in the final at the Western and Southern Open.
On the other hand, Isner has won 32 of the 50 matches he has played in this season. The American has also captured two titles in this season. The six feet and nine inches tall beat Olivier Rochus of Belgium in straight sets 6-3,
7-6(6) in the final at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. The American came in form at right time as he defeated Frenchman Julien Benneteau in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his latest event at the Winston-Salem Open.
After reaching the last-eight stage, Isner said, "I never made a Grand Slam quarterfinal before, so it's definitely up there. It feels good to get that one done with and over with. I'm playing well. I felt like I played fairly
well today. I was happy. I won a match, and my serve was broken five or six times. That's pretty encouraging."
The American said of his opponent in the next match, "I do feel confident going into tomorrow. It's obviously a very tough opponent. He's playing well. He's so tough. He's been in this situation a lot more than me. With my serve,
that's going to help me a lot. I'm going to have to play my best.”
The winner of these two will either play world number 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain or Andy Roddick of USA in the semi-finals.
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