John Isner prevails over David Goffin to reach semis – Winston-Salem Open 2012
Seeded third in the draw, John Isner of USA beat the world number 58 from Belgium, David Goffin, in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Winston-Salem Open on Thursday. The American number one needed one hour
and 33 minutes to win the match.
Isner and Goffin were brilliant on their serves throughout the opening set, as none of the two allowed the other to earn a break until the end, levelling the score at 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. Both players went on equal terms
till 3-3 but then the 6ft 9in tall American won four of the following six points to seal it 7-6(5).
The American star served unbelievably well, as he bombarded 16 blistering aces and 83 percent of the first deliveries. The right-hander had a superb conversion rate, grabbing 25 of the 29 first and five of the six second serve
points. In comparison, Goffin could not hit even a single ace and committed one double fault. The Belgian could not create even one break opportunity on Isner’s serve in the first set.
The start of second set was also stable by both players, holding their serve in the opening four games to even it out at 2-2. However, Isner stung a break in the fifth and consolidated on it to go up 4-2. Serving to stay in the
set at 3-5, Goffin was unable to hold and threw it away 3-6.
Isner could not match his first set’s high class performance on serve but he still managed to fire five aces and did not make any double faults. The 27-year-old returned very well this time, securing 10 of the 14 points on the
second replies in the second set.
During the post match press conference, Isner said, “I’m glad I got through these three matches. These are three matches where, on paper, I’m the favourite. I should win, so I’m glad to have gotten to the semis now.”
He added, “I know I can win this tournament, but this is a heck of a field with the final four here. For a 250 event, it’s as tough as it gets. Three guys in the Top 10 and Sam Querrey, who the only reason he’s ranked 20-something
is because he was out for almost a year.”
Isner is pitted against the number one seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, in the semi-finals. The world number six toppled Spain’s Marcel Granollers in the quarters.
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