John Isner halts Christian Harrison in round two – BB&T Atlanta Open 2013
The top seeded local star, John Isner, prevented Christian Harrison from joining his brother, Ryan Harrison, in the quarter-finals at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2013 on Thursday. He summed up a 7-6(9), 4-6, 7-5 victory against the 19-year-old at this ATP World
Tour 250 series event being held in Atlanta, United States of America.
The former Top 10, Isner displayed solid performance to edge past his compatriot in a three-set nail-biter. After stealing the show in two hours and 24 minutes, the veteran took lead in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-0 against the world number 373
and stayed on track to grab the title.
"I thought he played pretty well," the 28-year-old was quoted in a courtside interview after earning the glory. "He’s a very good player. I was very fortunate just to win. You never really want to win 7-5 in the third, two-and-a-half hours in humid, muggy
conditions like this, but I’ll take it."
"I felt like I handled it well," said the beaming youngster in a post math presser. "Didn’t really feel like my emotions got away from me ever. I felt like I was under control and it just came down to a couple points here in the end. He was able to serve
well and hit some big forehands… He came through clutch there in the end."
In the opening set both contestants played brilliantly. They showed exceptional defensive skills and held their entire serves with conviction. The set went to a tie-breaker where Isner edged past the youngster and clicked the opener with a 7-6(9) win.
The American teenager bounced back in the following set. He swiftly held his entire serves and got the breakthrough in the last game, subsequently grabbing the equaliser by winning six games to four.
Currently ranked 22nd in the Emirates Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Isner re-focused in the deciding set. With massive groundstrokes from his box of tricks, Isner was able to keep his entire serves. The veteran cashed a break opportunity in
the 11th game and clinched the decider with a 7-5 score line.
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