
It was case of so close but ultimately so far for Juan Martin del Potro in Paris. The tall Argentine fought hard to make an unlikely place in London. With qualification resting on his match with the United States’ John Isner, del Potro fell to a 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 defeat in the French capital.
Del Potro had closed the gap on the chasing pack for London by accumulating nearly 1,000 points in the weeks leading into Paris. Wins this week, coupled with early losses for other rivals including Pablo Carreno Busta, ensured the Argentine’s destiny was in his own hands.
Yet John Isner is always a tough customer, with the 6’11 American’s serve a tough prospect on any surface. Put that serve indoors however, and it becomes positively lethal. The American had served 54 aces in his last two matches, and looked to have an excellent rhythm on his most dangerous shot.
The first nine games went with serve, with neither man making serious inroads in service games. That all changed in game ten, when Isner created the first break point of the match. The big American took it, snatching the one opportunity of the set.
The American quickly built up momentum, holding comfortably through his first two service games in the second. With del Potro always serving behind, there was always scoreboard pressure on the 2009 US Open champion. Del Potro looked briefly in trouble when he started game three with a double fault, but quickly levelled up.
The match continued with serve all the way until the final point of a tiebreak. With del Potro leading 6-5, Isner double-faulted to hand the Argentine the second set.
Del Potro was broken early in the third though, and he received a medical timeout for a left thigh injury. Del Potro fought to the end, forcing thirty as Isner served for the match, but the American eventually closed out the victory.
A consolation for del Potro is that he will move back into the Top 10 of the ATP rankings as a result of his quarter-final run here.
Incredibly, by knocking out del Potro, Isner’s chances of making the ATP Finals remain intact. The American can qualify if he wins the tournament. He faces Filip Krajinovic in the semi-finals after the Serbian was the beneficiary of a withdrawal from World No.1 Rafael Nadal.