John Isner edges pass Alex Bogomolov Jr. into the semis – Hall of Fame Championships 2011
In the all-American affair that followed at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, top seed John Isner took down fellow compatriot Alex Bogomolov Jr. in the quarter-final of the Campbell’s
Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Thursday.
World number 46, Isner had to go through a tough time before taking down the resilient American in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-4, in one hour and thirty four minutes of play. Isner’s victory sends him in to the semi-final of the ATP
(Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour tournament, due to be played on Saturday.
The thrilling contest featured some quality tennis from the two American contestants, with Isner finally winning in the end. The tall American exhibited his fiery serve with commanding accuracy once again in the contest, cracking
21 thudding aces and reaching 76 per cent precision with his first serve. Isner was off to an aggressive start to the game, launching a string of attacking moves upon his opponent to exert pressure on him.
Bogomolov Jr. met his opponent’s aggression with his typical fury and didn’t allow him to register a serve break in the opening set. He suffered 12 fiery aces in the first set and coughed four double faults as well to grant some
easy points to Isner but successfully defended the two break points he faced from his opponent.
The opener went on neck-to-neck, with both men failing to register a serve break to dead lock the scores at 6-6. Bogomolov Jr. hung in the tie breaker round for a while but eventually crumbled when Isner reeled off three consecutive
points to close the opening set at 7-6(5).
Isner shifted his gears in the following set and continued to fire speedy aces passing Bogomolov Jr.’s racquet. He secured 17 out of 19 first serve points in the second set and stung the first serve break of the day to drive his
fellow compatriot out of the competition in a convincing manner. Isner closed out the contest at 6-4 to advance into the semis of Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
It was the second time in the running ATP season that Bogomolov Jr. has suffered a straight sets defeat at the hands of Isner. The top took down Bogomolov Jr. in the Miami Masters this year, 6-2, 7-6(4), in the round of 32 and
now leads the head-to-head series against him by 2-0.
Isner will face the eighth seed German, Tobias Kamke, in the semis of the tournament on Saturday, for getting an opportunity have a title shot.
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