Fifth seed John Isner continued his run of success at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, defeating fellow American Tommy Paul 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2 on Thursday for his second consecutive semi-final in Acapulco.
”He’s improved so much and his results show that this year. I’m definitely the old guard of American tennis and I’m trying to hang onto that for as long as I can,” Isner said. “Winning matches like this gives me a lot of confidence.”
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The 34-year-old improved to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series with Paul and advanced to his second semi-final of the year. He awaits the winner of Brit Kyle Edmund and American Taylor Fritz.
”I’m expecting a really good match. Kyle has definitely found his form in 2020, so it’s good to see him back and playing at his top level,” Isner said. “Taylor is confident every time he takes the court. He’s an absolute gamer and I respect the heck out of him. He straps on his shoes and goes to battle.”
Isner and Paul traded comfortable service holds in the first set to set up a tie-break. One point proved the difference, with Paul missing a forehand at 3/3 to give Isner a mini-break advantage. The big-serving American then took the next three points to grab the early lead.
A loose service game from Isner at 1-2 in the second set saw him hit two double faults to hand Paul the first break of the match. The slight advantage was all the 22-year-old needed and he went on to force a decider.
With the final set tied at 2-2, Isner found another gear and won four straight games to advance in exactly two hours. He hammered 22 aces on the day and has hit 72 aces across his first three matches this week.
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