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Thursday, September 8, 2011
It was a classic Isner match on Court 17 on Thursday, with the first, third and fourth sets going to tiebreakers and Isner coming up with the win in each instance in his fourth-round victory. The giant American with the giant serve downed the Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) in 4 hours and 5 minutes.
There couldn’t be two more opposite players on opposite sides of the court. At 6'9", Isner is lanky and lumbering, but extremely powerful with one of the most difficult serves in the men’s game and an intimidating net game, but certainly not an all-court player. Meanwhile, the comparatively diminutive Simon at 6' is lithe and elegantly athletic, a true all-court player with no discernable special tools in his arsenal. Simon also takes a far more measured approach to his play, taking fewer risks on his shots then the go-for-broke Isner.
At first, the pesky Simon confounded Isner, who sent powerful serve after powerful serve to the Frenchman. But Simon almost always answered back with equally impressive returns, keeping the Ace King to only four aces in the first set, two of which came during the tiebreak, and only one ace in the second set.
"I think I came out today in the first set and I didn't really come out too sharp," Isner said after the match, commenting on the effects the two day rain delay had his play. "I got down in an early hole because I sort of lost my rhythm, lost the rhythm of the tournament, because you're used to playing, day off, playing, day off, and whatnot."
The 12th-seeded Simon was able to dictate many points by forcing long baseline rallies and frustrate Isner early by taking a quick 2-0 lead the first set. But two games later, Isner broke back, putting the set back on serve. Both players held serve for the remainder of the set, and the two men were forced to play a tiebreaker. At this point, Isner is most comfortable in a tiebreak situation where he can lean heavily on his serve and the points tend to be quick. He plowed through Simon with an easy 7-2 win and pumped his fist, happy he escaped the tough first set with a lead.
But it was all Simon in the second set, with the Frenchman breaking Isner in his first three service games.
In the third set, with the stands at Court 17 finally full, Isner began to hit his stride with the American crowd fully behind him, holding each of his service games and launching 12 aces, seven more than he had logged in the first two sets combined and pressuring Simon by successfully approaching the net and hitting winners.
Both men held serve and again Isner was able to play a tiebreak, which he dominated again 7-2.
In the fourth set, he and Simon exchanged breaks early on and then remained on serve to send the match into the third and final tiebreak, which Isner won 7-4, sending the American into his first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinals and extending his longest winning streak to nine matches.
"I felt like I played fairly well today," Isner said. "I won a match, and my serve was broken five or six times, or six times or something, that's pretty encouraging.
"I never made a Grand Slam quarterfinal before, so it's definitely up there. It feels good to get that one done with and over with."
The 28th-seeded Isner will face No. 4 Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. Murray just downed another American, Donald Young, in straight sets in 2 hours and 3 minutes.
Isner, having played for almost twice the amount of time on the court on Thursday, will have to worry a bit about his energy against Murray.
"I'm a big guy, so these long, drawn‑out matches are going to take more out of me than they are other players," he said after the match. "I was definitely at one point a bit tired out there today, because it was very hot and humid. I went through 10 shirts. I ran out of shirts. I had to go get somebody to go get me some more shirts.
"It took a toll on me, but I'll be ready tomorrow."
There couldn’t be two more opposite players on opposite sides of the court. At 6'9", Isner is lanky and lumbering, but extremely powerful with one of the most difficult serves in the men’s game and an intimidating net game, but certainly not an all-court player. Meanwhile, the comparatively diminutive Simon at 6' is lithe and elegantly athletic, a true all-court player with no discernable special tools in his arsenal. Simon also takes a far more measured approach to his play, taking fewer risks on his shots then the go-for-broke Isner.
At first, the pesky Simon confounded Isner, who sent powerful serve after powerful serve to the Frenchman. But Simon almost always answered back with equally impressive returns, keeping the Ace King to only four aces in the first set, two of which came during the tiebreak, and only one ace in the second set.
"I think I came out today in the first set and I didn't really come out too sharp," Isner said after the match, commenting on the effects the two day rain delay had his play. "I got down in an early hole because I sort of lost my rhythm, lost the rhythm of the tournament, because you're used to playing, day off, playing, day off, and whatnot."
The 12th-seeded Simon was able to dictate many points by forcing long baseline rallies and frustrate Isner early by taking a quick 2-0 lead the first set. But two games later, Isner broke back, putting the set back on serve. Both players held serve for the remainder of the set, and the two men were forced to play a tiebreaker. At this point, Isner is most comfortable in a tiebreak situation where he can lean heavily on his serve and the points tend to be quick. He plowed through Simon with an easy 7-2 win and pumped his fist, happy he escaped the tough first set with a lead.
But it was all Simon in the second set, with the Frenchman breaking Isner in his first three service games.
In the third set, with the stands at Court 17 finally full, Isner began to hit his stride with the American crowd fully behind him, holding each of his service games and launching 12 aces, seven more than he had logged in the first two sets combined and pressuring Simon by successfully approaching the net and hitting winners.
Both men held serve and again Isner was able to play a tiebreak, which he dominated again 7-2.
In the fourth set, he and Simon exchanged breaks early on and then remained on serve to send the match into the third and final tiebreak, which Isner won 7-4, sending the American into his first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinals and extending his longest winning streak to nine matches.
"I felt like I played fairly well today," Isner said. "I won a match, and my serve was broken five or six times, or six times or something, that's pretty encouraging.
"I never made a Grand Slam quarterfinal before, so it's definitely up there. It feels good to get that one done with and over with."
The 28th-seeded Isner will face No. 4 Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. Murray just downed another American, Donald Young, in straight sets in 2 hours and 3 minutes.
Isner, having played for almost twice the amount of time on the court on Thursday, will have to worry a bit about his energy against Murray.
"I'm a big guy, so these long, drawn‑out matches are going to take more out of me than they are other players," he said after the match. "I was definitely at one point a bit tired out there today, because it was very hot and humid. I went through 10 shirts. I ran out of shirts. I had to go get somebody to go get me some more shirts.
"It took a toll on me, but I'll be ready tomorrow."
Match Facts
- But Isner had five double faults to Simon's one.- Isner has played 14 sets at this year's US Open so far, and six of them have gone to a tiebreak situation. He has won each of the tiebreakers.
- Isner notched 26 aces on the match, while Simon only served six aces.
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| John Isner USA (28) |  | 77 | 3 | 77 | 77 | ||||||||||||||
| Gilles Simon FRA (12) | 62 | 6 | 62 | 64 | |||||||||||||||
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