John Isner takes down Arnaud Clement to move into the quarter-finals – Hall of Fame Championships 2011
Top seed American, John Isner, continued his brilliant form to outplay Arnaud Clement of France to clear the second round of the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Wednesday.
Isner toiled for one hour and fifty one minutes before he wound of his straight sets victory at 7-6(6), 6-4, to book a berth in the quarter-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
Being played at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, the contest appeared to be evenly poised in the opening set but American dominance began to prevail in the later parts of the game.
Both men took off the contest with sheer aggression, exchanging assertive winners to exert their supremacy over the opponent.
26-year-old Isner drew the first blood in the contest by breaking the French serve in the third game to get to a commanding lead of 4-2. Five double faults from Clement assisted the American to break into the lead but a timely
serve break from the French brought him right back in to the game, levelling the scores at 6-6. A decisive tie breaker round was brought into play, with the two contestants labouring very hard to clinch the decider, but Isner took advantage from a mini-break
to seal the opening set at 7-6(6).
Clement went through a drastic slump in the following set, letting easy opportunities to his rival to come on top. Isner took advantage of Clement’s four double faults and stung just one serve break to wrap up straight sets victory
at 6-4, earning a place in the final eight of the tournament.
Positioned at number 46 in world ratings, Isner put up a performance far better than his ranking suggests. As he is well known for, the tall American was phenomenal with his serve, reaching 69 per cent accuracy and cracked 11 thudding
aces to the opposite court. His points winning proficiency proved to be the critical success factor in his victory, as he reeled off 36 out of 45 first serve points in the game to come out as the winner in the end.
The top seed will take on his fellow compatriot, Alex Bogomolov, in the quarter-final clash on Thursday afternoon for place in the semis. Seeded at number five in the tournament, Bogomolov defeated Ruben Bemelmans of Germany in
the second round to qualify for the round of eight of the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
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