Six-foot-nine John Isner continued to captivate fans at the Legg Mason Thursday. His unconventional 6-7 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) victory over American qualifier Wayne Odesnik was the third straight time that Isner has rallied after losing the first set and won on a third-set tie-breaker.
After outlasting Odesnik in an amazing match, in which both players won all of their service games, Isner slumped deep in his courtside chair, knees high, with a grin as wide as the Mississippi. Forget being cool, the recent University of Georgia grad and NCAA runner up has no hesitation showing his joy at his unexpected success in his second ATP tournament.
“It’s a cliché, but I grew up watching these guys,” said Isner. “It’s pretty surreal to be able to compete against these guys.”
While Isner’s first two wins came over European players with impressive resumes, Thursday’s victory was over a plucky 21-year-old baseliner who had not won an ATP match before coming to Washington this week.
“He kept me guessing from the back and won most the baseline rallies,” said Isner. “Fortunately again, I was serving exceptionally well today. That’s what carried me through.”
Isner fired 31 aces at Odesnik, including two on the final two points in the tie-breaker to wrap up the victory. In the final two tie-breakers, Isner took advantage of early Odesnik errors, then stayed in command with his devastating serve.
Mr. Big Stuff Part II
Isner’s victory came after another show of force by a huge right-hander. On the same Grandstand Court 6-foot-10 Croatian Ivo Karlovic dominated American Vince Spadea with his serve, 6-2, 6-4.
Karlovic, 28, not only won all nine of his service games; he was barely challenged, as Spadea never got to deuce. The seventh-seeded Karlovic finished with 19 aces (to one for Spadea) and clicked on 82 percent of his first serves as he advanced to a quarterfinal match with Chilean Paul Capdeville.
Karlovic is in the midst of a career year, winning his first two ATP titles — in Houston in April and at Nottingham, England in June.
And forget the notion that he is a one-dimensional slugger, limited to fast surfaces. His win in Houston came in the U.S. Clay Court Championships and he is the only player in the world who has reached a final on all three surfaces (clay, hard, and grass) this year.
Haas has the stomach for it
No. 2 seed Tommy Haas took a month off after suffering a stomach injury at Wimbledon. In his first tournament back, Haas appears ready to challenge for a title. Thursday on the Stadium Court, he clipped American Michael Russell, 6-3, 6-4.
Haas, 29, reached the quarterfinals in the 1997 Legg Mason. This is his first appearance in Washington since 2000.
