John Isner undoes Mardy Fish in tight sets in the first round of the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open
World number 33 John Isner required three hours to oust Davis Cup teammate and good friend Mardy Fish, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(3) in the second longest match of the day at the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open. With the conditions supporting both
players at the clay courts of Park Manzanares, it was Isner’s forehand that created the difference in the final tie-break.
It was a very composed performance by the 6 ft-9 in Isner who rocked 13 aces past the world number eleven. His brilliant performance showed every indication that he is in both the mindset and form to once again challenge for the
Mutua Madrid title that so narrowly eluded him in last year’s third round battle against the defending champion Rafael Nadal.
Fish didn’t drop his serve at any point but at the same time he couldn’t manage to play the important points in the tie-breaks and lost the match. Isner on the other hand served pretty well and hit the ball to the right place at
the right time. He won whopping 83 percent behind his first serves and 77 percent on his second serves. Fish on the other hand couldn’t handle the tremendous pressure and scored 69 percent behind his 74 percent first serves. However, he kept fighting and saved
100 percent breakpoints to take the match into a tie-break. Isner with his excellent foot work and weight control managed to score two more points than him and took the first set with 7-5 score.
The second set was totally a one-sided victory for Fish who broke Isner’s serve in the 10th game to clinch it with a 6-4 score line. In the final set, Isner and Fish held their serve in the last 12 games, levelling the
score at 6-6 to force a tie-break. Isner completely dominated his compatriot as he claimed three mini-breaks to win the match. Decided by a final set-break, the 26-year-old Isner has now improved his win loss mark to 19-9 in singles matches so far.
Commenting on his victory, Isner said “It’s great to get it done, no doubt. Mardy is playing really well, and I thought he played well today, and I had to play extremely well myself. It’s definitely a good win and should give me
some confidence going forward. Hopefully I can use this match and keep it going.”
Isner will clash Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine for a place in the next round of the tournament. Stakhovsky has done some wonders in the past and won titles at New Haven and s-Hertogenbosch last year. Isner will have to play hard
if he wishes to succeed in the third round of the tournament.
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