John Isner topples Feliciano Lopez to enter final showdown – US Men’s Clay Court Championship 2012
Second seed, John Isner, rallied past the third seeded wild card entrant, Feliciano Lopez, in a three set nail-biter at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship 2012 on Saturday. He summed up a 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-3 victory against the Spaniard to labour into
the title-round at this ATP World Tour 250 series event held in Houston, Texas.
Isner, who is about to become the American number one, displayed superb abilities to outclass the world number 15 at this Maroon clay court event. After pocketing the match in two hours and 36 minutes, the American not only avenged his loss at the Australian
Open earlier this season but also advanced into the final round.
“He serves so well and on top of that, he was hitting his forehand and slice well. He was the one making me feeling uncomfortable,” said the beaming American in a courtside interview. “I certainly wasn’t feeling my best at times out there, but I’m fortunate
to be able to get through matches because of my serve. I’m very lucky to have that on my side. It wasn’t pretty, but I found a way to eventually get it done and I’m proud of that.”
The 30-year-old, Lopez assertively entered the River Oaks country club and held his opening serve with poise. He warded off the lone breakpoint he faced but squandered all three break opportunities, ultimately enforcing a tie-breaker. The Spaniard outshined
his rival in it and clinched opener with a 7-6(5) score line.
Ranked 10th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Isner re-structured his strategy in the second set. The American smashed five aces and blocked all three breakpoints he came across to pluck his entire serves. However, he was unsuccessful
in seeking any break chance, consequently dragging the set to the tie-breaker. However, Isner played brilliant tennis in it and clicked the equaliser with a 7-6(4) win.
The 26-year-old kept momentum running into the proceeding set and swiped in his entire serves after brushing off both breakpoints he encountered. He capitalised on one out of four break opportunities and pulled out the decider with a 6-3 score line.
Isner will square off against the fourth seed, Juan Monaco, who halted the local qualifier, Michael Russell, in three sets to set-up this clash. The Argentinean required two hours and 25 minutes and broke his opponent’s serve six times to formulate a 5-7,
6-1, 6-4 success.
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