John Isner upsets Roger Federer to take his side 2-0 up on day one – Davis Cup WG 2012
Local Swiss crowd at the Forum Fribourg was in for a huge surprise on Friday night, as the local hero, the former world number one, Roger Federer, lost his encounter against the 17th ranked American, John Isner, at the Davis Cup World Group tie. The stunning American took down the Swiss maestro in an exciting three-setter, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2, to break his team into a 2-0 lead over the home side by the end of day one’s play.
The two hour and 40-minute battle witnessed one of the most enthralling turnarounds of the tournament, with the American tennis ace coming from a one-set deficit to surprise Federer. Isner dropped the opening set of the match but made a thumping comeback to win the following set. Once getting into the winning groove, The American spearhead never looked back in the contest and reeled off the next two sets in a row to register his first ever victory over the Swiss maestro in singles encounters.
“It's the biggest win of my life,” declared Isner. “But what it means to me, is our team is up 2-0. Hats off to Mardy for winning the first [rubber]. It took a lot of pressure off of me.”
Earlier on Friday night, the American number one, Mardy Fish went through a gruelling five-setter against the 28th ranked Swiss competitor, Stanislas Wawrinka, to win the opening singles rubber for his side. The world number eight, Fish, laboured for four hours and 26 minutes of play before he bagged the first win for Team America, settling the match scores at 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 9-7.
"I shouldn't take the court if I don't believe I can go out and win this match. I owe a lot to captain Courier. He was on me in practise all week. He told me to do all the right things. The way I played today, that's how I need to play in all of my matches."
Isner had an early stumble in the opening set but recovered with tremendous skills to win three sets on the trot to devastate the hopes of the local crowd. Federer could register merely one break point off his 12 chances in the entire matchup, while the American opponent registered three out of 12 serve breaks en route to victory. Federer will compete against Fish in the fourth rubber of the tie and Isner will meet Wawrinka in the fifth one to conclude victory for his side.
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