Mardy Fish retires against Gilles Muller in his opening match – BB&T Atlanta Open 2012
Second seed, Mardy Fish, was leading 6-4, 3-2 against Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller when he was forced to pull out from the tournament after suffering an ankle injury at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2012 on Thursday. As a result, Muller secured a place in the quarter-finals
at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event held in Johns Creek, United States.
The former top-10, Fish, was leading a set and 2-2 when he injured his left ankle. He managed to serve out the game but was unable to continue. The Luxembourgian not only improved to a 1-2 record in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against Fish but also
powered into the final eight.
"I did everything I could just to bring my head back," the jubilant American reflected. "That brought my right leg out, sort of sliding and jarring it back and (turned) the inside of the right ankle. It was going to be either my knee, my ankle or my head.
Thankfully it was my ankle. There was some sharp pain when I was walking after getting up from the chair for the changeover. I knew it was a little bit worse than I thought initially."
Currently ranked 13th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Fish made a sloppy start and suffered the first blow in the seventh game to trail at 3-4. However, he cashed in both break chances and reeled off the last three games
to pull out the opener with a 6-4 score line.
The 29-year-old on the other side of net re-focused in the following set and held his serves with poise. After Muller plucked his second serve, the American endured an ankle injury and was forced to retire from professional tennis.
The Luxembourgian will next confront Australia’s Matthew Ebden who hit back to outclass James Blake in a three-set thriller to set up this meeting.
The top seed, John Isner, faced a better fortune later that day. He lost the opening set but sought his momentum after that. The American number one was broken once but cashed in two out of four break chances to formulate a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory against
the Belgian qualifier, Ruben Bemelmans. Isner also fired 16 aces and impressively marked 43 out of 51 points on his first serve share to steal the show.
Isner will face off his wildcard compatriot, Jack Sock, in the quarter-finals.
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