John Isner topples Nicolas Mahut in the second round – Hall of Fame Tennis Championships 2012
Top seed, John Isner of USA, moved to the last eight by beating the world number 65, Nicolas Mahut, in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(2) in the round of 16 of the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, USA on Wednesday. The
American number one needed just an hour and 18 minutes to down Mahut in a one sided contest.
Isner made an ideal start to the match, as he broke Mahut in the very first game and held his following serve to attain a 2-0 lead. The American struck again in the third and consolidated on it to stretch his advantage to 4-0.
Mahut succeeded in opening his account in the fifth game and reducing the trail to 1-4 but he managed to claim only one more, losing it 2-6.
The American star demolished Mahut with his fiery first serves, bombarding seven aces and 84 percent of the first serves. The 6ft 9in tall amazingly converted 15 of the 16 of them into points. The Florida, USA resident did not
provide any break chance to Mahut and availed two of the five of his own in the opener.
Isner and Mahut put on a superb serving display in the second set, as they did not allow each other to break serve even once till the end, levelling the score at 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. The 27-year-old opened up a 4-0 lead
at the start and maintained it throughout to capture it 7-6(2).
The American contender continued to dominate with the help of his powerful serves, clinching 18 of the 24 first and 10 of the 13 second delivery points.
Isner said during the post match press conference, "From the moment I warmed up today, I knew I was going to play better. I just felt more comfortable. Getting that first match underneath my belt helped a lot, even though it wasn't
the prettiest of matches. I just felt more comfortable today from the first ball hit on the practice court and I think that translated over to the match score.
He added, "I certainly started off very well. I would've liked to have won the match not in a tie-breaker. I had some chances, let them slip through, but all in all very happy to be back in the quarter-finals."
The top American player will meet the South African qualifier, Izak Van Der Merwe, in the last eight.
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