John Isner ousts Izak Van Der Merwe to reach semis – Hall of Fame Tennis Championships 2012
Top seed and defending champion, John Isner, is now just two matches away from retaining his Newport title, as he knocked out the South African qualifier, Izak Van Der Merwe, in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(2) in the quarter-finals of
the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Friday. The encounter lasted for only one hour and 23 minutes.
This annual tournament is held on the grass courts of International Tennis Hall of Fame Rhode Island, USA.
Van Der Merwe comfortably held his opening serve but Isner had to save a couple of break points, levelling the score at 1-1. The American contestant snatched a break in the third and won his following serve to gain a 3-1 lead.
Isner did not allow his South African rival to come back into the set, closing it 6-4.
The highest ranked American player banged in five aces and pocketed 14 of the 18 first serve points in the opening set. The 27-year-old could not respond well to Van Der Merwe’s fiery first deliveries, as he lost 13 of the 14 points
but compensated a little by winning seven of the 13 second ones.
Isner and Van Der Merwe performed remarkably well on serve in the second set, as they did not allow each other to claim a breakthrough till the end, taking the score to 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. The American star raised the
level of his game later on, dropping just two points and winning it 7-6(2).
Commenting on the proceedings of the match, Isner said, “He mixed up the serve and volleys more than I anticipated. I thought he was going to do it every time, so that threw me off a little bit. When good servers meet on a court
like that, it’s not necessarily going to be so pretty. It was the sort of match I expected. I’m sure I could have played better, and more aggressive, but all in all I’m very happy with the result.”
The American contender will face his compatriot, Ryan Harrison, in the semi-final. Harrison eased past Germany’s Benjamin Becker in the quarter-finals.
When Harrison was asked about his next match-up, he said, “I know John really well. We've played Davis Cup together. I've watched him win some really big matches this year. I've been training with him a lot.”
Their only previous meeting took place at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in 2010, when Isner won in straight sets.
Tags: