Andy Roddick stuns John Isner to enter title-round – BB&T Atlanta Open 2012
In an all-American clash, Andy Roddick upset his top seeded compatriot, John Isner, in a three-set thriller at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2012 on Saturday. He nudged up a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 victory against the world number 11 to secure a place in the final showdown
at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place in Johns Creek, United States.
The former world number one recreated his magic to shock Isner in their sixth outing. After bagging the match in almost two and a half hour, Roddick not only avenged his loss at the Winston Salem hard court tournament event last season but also improved
to a 4-2 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against the 27-year-old.
Roddick high-spiritedly entered the Atlantic Station and held his serve in the second game to level the scores at 1-1. He brushed off both breakpoints he came across to swipe his entire serves with conviction. The American veteran cashed in the lone break
chance in the seventh game and pocketed the opener with a 6-4 score line.
The American number one, Isner re-structured in the follow-up set. He hammered massive forehands from his box of tricks to pluck his entire serves without encountering any barrier. However, Isner failed to seek any break opportunity and imposed a tie-breaker.
He prevailed in it and pulled out the equaliser with a 7-6(5) win.
Currently ranked 22nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Roddick found his rhythm again in the final set. He grabbed his entire serves without facing any real challenge and capitalised on one out of six break chances in the
last game to click the decider by winning six games to four.
Summing up the winning American’s performance, Roddick manifested a slightly higher first serve share of 65 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 64 per cent and amazingly marked 53 out of 60 points on it. He also withstood 26 aces hammered by Isner and finished
the match with 101 points.
Next in queue for Roddick is the Luxembourgian contender, Gilles Muller, who jolted down eighth seeded Go Soeda in straight sets to set up this encounter.
Muller held his entire serves without facing any trouble and capitalised on two out of five break chances to pocket the match. He smacked 17 aces and sealed the deal with 63 points, eventually recording a 6-4, 6-3 score line in 72 minutes.
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