“He’s very solid”, Isner said of his 22-year-old compatriot.
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Dudi Sela of Israel reacts against Denis Kudla of the US during a quarterfinal round match at the BB&T Atlanta Open tennis tournament at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 31 July 2015.
Top-seeded John Isner kept his bid for a third straight ATP Atlanta Open crown on track on Friday, booking a semi-final clash with fellow American Denis Kudla. Yet, this was the first time in six Atlanta appearances that he was not taken to three sets in his first match.
Defending his points from last year’s final, John will be sure to remain in the top 20 even after the tournament of Atlanta is over.
World number 48 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus joined Isner in the final as he fought back from one set down to see off Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller. He had 10 aces, and won 86 percent of his first serves (to Isner’s 84 percent), and 62 percent on seconds.
“Baghdatis will be different”, Isner said.
Kudla had to qualify for this event but showed he belonged with some big hitting on his way to the first set, taking it 7-6.
Baghdatis would counter in the second set by standing well behind the baseline to receive Muller’s serve.
Kudla entered the match on a recent 17-2 win streak that included reaching the round of 16 at Wimbledon.
The only service break of the final set came on another Kudla forehand mistake, when he sent one wide to end the match.
“I think (I need) to mess up his game”, Baghdatis told ESPN’s Brad Gilbert on his tactics against Isner. “In the beginning, he was trying to pick his spots and I could get a racket on it. When he gets up toward 140, that’s when it gets tough”. But not this good.Top-seeded Mike and Bob Bryan won the first doubles semifinal Saturday in fashion befitting the mismatch that appeared on paper. The most successful doubles team in history beat Donald Young and Christopher Eubanks 6-2, 6-4 for their record 942nd career win together.
Young and Eubanks, an Atlanta native and rising sophomore at nearby Georgia Tech playing in his first ATP main draw, scored just five points against 41 serves over two sets in their third match together.
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The fourth-seeded Fogini beat qualifier Lucas Pouille, 6-2, 7-6 (3), after saving a set point in the second set.
