John Isner tops Jack Sock to secure a final four berth – BB&T Atlanta Open 2012
Top seeded John Isner trounced his wildcard compatriot, Jack Sock, in straight sets at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2012 on Friday. The American number one nudged up a 7-6(7) victory against the surprise quarter finalist to power into the semi-finals at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place in Johns Creek, United States.
The American top, Isner, showed spectacular performance to outsmart Sock in their first encounter. After carving out the victory in two hours and 14 minutes, Isner took lead in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against the world number 326 and booked a spot in the semi-finals at this outdoor hard court tournament.
Isner thundered into the Atlantic Station and drew the first blood in the second game to leap to a 3-0 lead. Apart from losing his edge in the seventh game, the seed stayed focused and took the set to a tie-breaker. He edged past his fellow citizen in it and clicked the opener with a 7-6(7) win.
Ranked 11th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Isner carried his winning ways in the following set and held his opening serve to level the scores at 1-1. He blocked the lone breakpoint he encountered to keep his entire serves and got the breakthrough in the ninth game, eventually sealing the deal by winning six games to four.
All in all, the 27-year-old sought 10 break chances and smashed 12 aces. He also clobbered a higher first serve share of 59 per cent as compared to the 19-year-old’s 52 per cent and amazingly marked 37 out of 47 points on it.
Next in queue for the ultra-fit Isner is the former world number one, Andy Roddick, who tumbled Michael Russell in straight sets to set up this epic battle.
The Luxembourgian star, Gilles Muller, also stole the show earlier that day. He got the better of the Australian challenger, Matthew Ebden, in straight sets in their first meeting. Muller pocketed his entire serves without facing any breakpoint and overpowered the Aussie with a single break of serve in each set.
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