John Isner battles past Philipp Kohlschreiber into the quarter-finals – Rogers Cup 2012
Eighth seed, John Isner of USA, came back after dropping the opener to overcome Germany’s world number 18, Philipp Kohlschreiber, in three sets 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4 in the third round of Rogers Cup in Toronto on Friday.
It took the American star just under two hours to undo his German rival in a close match.
Isner and Kohlschreiber began the contest by winning their opening serves to even out the proceedings at 1-1. The German player was first to take lead, as he broke Isner in the third game and consolidated on it to move ahead 3-1.
However, Kohlschreiber failed to close it out in the 10th game, as he lost his serve to level the score at 5-5. The following two games were held by both players, taking it to 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. Isner and Kohlschreiber went at par till
2-2 but then the German grabbed five of the following six points to triumph 7-6(3).
Kohlschreiber banged in four aces and survived eight from his opponent in the first set. The German converted 19 of the 24 first and nine of the 14 second serves into points. The 5ft 10in tall could not put away one of the two
break threats he came across and utilised one of the three he received.
Isner came attacking in the second set after losing the first with closest of margin, clinching opening four games to attain a 4-0 lead. Kohlschreiber came close to levelling the score, as he won the following three to reduce the
trail to 3-4 but he failed to come at par, losing it 4-6.
Ranked 11th in the world, Isner bombarded seven aces and 74 percent of the first serves on Kohlschreiber, winning 15 of the 20 points on them. The American player also did an impressive job on the returns, as he pocketed
nine of the 17 first and four of the eight second reply points in the second set.
Isner carried the winning momentum into final set, snatching a break in the third game and holding his subsequent serve to grab a 3-1 advantage. The American contestant maintained his lead till the end of proceedings and claimed
it 6-4.
USA’s top player, Isner, will face the home favourite, Milos Raonic, in the quarter-finals. Seeded 16th in the draw, Raonic got a walkover against the world number four, Andy Murray of Great Britain, in the third round.
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