John Isner out performs Rogerio Dutra Silva in the first round – French Open 2012
USA’s second best player, John Isner, made a good start to the tournament by beating Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round at the French in Paris on Monday.
Isner started the contest ideally, as he snatched opening three games of the first set to grab a 3-0 advantage. The American did not allow Silva to stage a comeback, as he did not lose his serve throughout and closed it 6-3.
The big server, Isner, bombarded seven aces on the Brazilian, hitting 74 percent of the first deliveries and winning 18 of the 20 points on them in the opener. He was a little weak on the second serves, losing four of the seven
points but compensated that by his heavy ground strokes, as he pounded 21 huge winners compared to just four by Silva.
Isner, once again, took an early lead in the second set, breaking the Brazilian in the very first game and holding his following serve to attain a 2-0 lead. The American maintained it till the end, sealing it 6-4.
The 6ft 9in tall banged in six aces and 62 percent of the first serves in the second set. He was error free on the first deliveries, as he did not lose even one point on them, amazingly capturing all of the 13. The right- hander
also gave an outstanding performance on the second serves this time, winning seven of the eight points on them.
The story in the decider was exactly the same as the second set, as Isner clinched breakthrough in the opening game and capitalised on that only strike to triumph 6-4.
The American continued to win most of the points with the help of his blistering serves, smacking five aces and grabbing 17 of the 19 first delivery points. The Florida, USA resident did not lose any point on the second serves
and hit 15 winners in the final set.
After the end of the contest, a relieved Isner said, “Coming into this tournament I haven’t been playing my best, so I knew that this first match was very, very important. I was able to get a relatively comfortable win, which is
always nice. I think I’m going to continue to improve as the tournament goes on. I’m not looking past my next match, but I’m very, very happy to get the first one under my belt.”
The 27-year-old will lock horns with local player, Paul-Henri Mathieu, in the second round.
Tags: