ATP New York: Isner overpowers Tomic. Lorenzi, Albot and Thompson prevail
Denis Istomin and Radu Albot are the last players who have reached the second round in New York after beating Mackenzie McDonald and Ivo Karlovic form a set down. Istomin needed an hour and 37 minutes to dismiss the young American 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, recovering after the first set and losing only 11 points on serve in the rest of the encounter. Despite a great start, Mackenzie couldn't follow the rival's pace in sets two and three, unable to create any chance on the return and suffering three breaks to push Denis into round two. In the most exciting match of the day, Radu Albot ousted Ivo Karlovic 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 in just two hours and 18 minutes, with the Croatian veteran suffering another tight loss despite blasting 37 aces and facing no break points in the entire match.
He had a massive chance to score a win after creating two break points at 1-1 in the decider but he failed to make that extra step and forge the lead. Albot went on to win the tie break 7-5 and secure the place in the last 16 despite winning six points less than the giant server. The 37-year-old Paolo Lorenzi is still capable of playing on a high level, taking down Ryan Harrison 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and five minutes. Ryan fired 17 aces and he saved six out of eight break points, enough for only a set as he managed to break the Italian only once. Every set was decided with a single break and Paolo earned a win after taking 12 of the final 16 points, breaking Harrison in the ninth game of the third set for the first ATP quarter-final since Istanbul last year.
A qualifier Brayden Schnur will compete in the first ATP quarter-final after a tight 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 win over the 3rd seed Steve Johnson in two hours and six minutes after saving two match points. Almost nothing could separate them and Steve won one point more than the Canadian (102-101), pushing each other to the limits from start to finish and deciding the winner in the final set tie break. Brayden landed 18 aces and fended off eight out of ten break points and he won the opener 6-4 with a good return game at 2-2. Johnson gave his best to stay unbroken at 3-3 in the second set, repelling five break points to gain the momentum and securing the set with a break at 15 in game ten to send the encounter into a decider.
There, the American was 5-2 up before the youngster started to climb back, pulling the break back in game nine and saving those two match points at 5-6 to reach the tie break that he won 7-4 with a single mini-break for the most important triumph of his career so far. After losing the opening two matches of the season, the top seed John Isner is back on the winning course with a 7-6, 6-4 victory over Bernard Tomic in 74 minutes. John fired 27 aces and lost only nine points behind the initial shot, forcing Tomic to deliver similar numbers to stay in contention.
The Aussie saved five out of six break chances in the very last game of the match although he couldn't win at least a set against such a strong rival despite a set point at 7-6 in the breaker. Nothing could separate them in the opening set, entering a tie break after 12 commanding holds and just 31 minutes of play and continuing to chase each other there, with no room for errors. Tomic sprayed a forehand error in the very first point to send Isner in front but he pulled the mini-break back in the third point after a forehand error from the American.
There were no mini-breaks in the next 12 points and John saved a set point at 6-7 with an ace and he secured a set with a good return in the 16th point for a 9-7. The second set offered nine easy holds on both sides and Bernard served to stay in the match at 4-5, with extra pressure on his back. The Aussie saved five match points (four with winners) before Isner finally converted the sixth one to seal the deal and move into the last eight and grab the first win of the season.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2GqXJM4
No comments