John Isner prevails over Pablo Andujar to reach third round – Rogers Cup 2012
USA’s top tennis player, John Isner, advanced to the last-16 stage of the Rogers Cup for the first time in his career, after downing Spain’s world number 44, Pablo Andujar, in straight sets 7-6(5), 7-5 in the second round on Tuesday.
Isner needed one hour and 48 minutes to record this win over his Spanish rival.
Isner and Andujar served brilliantly in the opener, as they did not allow each other to break even once until the end, equalising the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. They went neck to neck till 4-4 but then the American
pocketed three of the subsequent four points to seal it 7-6(5).
Ranked 11th in the world, Isner relied on his serve to grab most of the points, bombarding 12 aces on his rival and clinching 22 of the 29 first delivery points. The American star could not give a good return performance,
as he won just five of the 25 first and three of the 11 second reply points. None of the two players succeeded in creating even a single break opportunity in the opener.
Andujar was going good in the second set, as he attained a breakthrough in the fourth game to go up 3-1 but Isner hit back immediately to level the proceedings at 3-3. The following four went with serves, taking the score to 5-5.
Isner snatched a break again in the 11th and capitalised on it to win 7-5.
The American contender could not match the serve performance he gave in the opener but still pounded five aces and committed only one double fault. The 6ft 9in tall had a low first serve percentage of 50 but managed to convert
13 of the 17 of them into points. The Florida, USA resident also fared well on the second deliveries and returns, bagging 10 of the 17 and nine of the 15 points on them respectively. The American player saved one of the two break points he faced and converted
two of the three he received in the second set.
Isner is playing superbly in this season, having a win/loss record of 34-14 and capturing one title. The right-hander has notched some top wins in 2012, as he stunned Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic earlier in this year.
The American contestant will meet Italy’s Fabio Fognini or Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the third round.
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