Top seed John Isner has returned back to the winner’s circle after defeating Bernard Tomic 7-6(7), 6-4, in the second round of the New York Open.
Isner, who received a bye in the first round of the tournament, dominated on his serve throughout the match. Firing 27 aces past Tomic and dropping just nine points behind his serve. In the opening set the American fended off a trio of set points during the tiebreaker. In total there was only one break of serve in the entire match, but it occurred at the most significant moment. As Tomic served to stay in the match at 4-5 down in the second frame, Isner applied the pressure before triumphing on his sixth match point.
“I definitely served very well,” Isner said after the match. “I was down a set point in the first set and I came up with three aces.
“I’m happy to be in the quarter-finals. Last year I lost my first match here, hopefully I continue to improve.”
The win awards the 33-year-old his first victory of the season. Isner experienced a disappointing start to the year with early tournament losses to Taylor Fritz in Auckland and Reilly Opelka at the Australian Open. However, he has maintained his top 10 position and is currently ranked ninth in the world.
“I had a long time to stew over again not doing well down under,” Isner said. “I didn’t do well in Australia and it’s like I had another offseason. I wasn’t feeling too great after that . . . I was very eager to get out here an play and very happy to win.”
In the quarter-finals the American will take on seventh seed Jordan Thompson. Thompson recovered from a set down to defeat Chris Eubanks 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
https://twitter.com/NewYorkOpen/status/1095902522538106880
In the other half of the draw, Canadian qualifier Brayden Schnur has reached the last eight of an ATP tournament for the first time in his career. The 23-year-old stunned last year’s runner-up Steve Johnson 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4). Saving two match points during the closing stages of the match.
“I just knew I had to make returns and obviously the hardest game for him to hold is the last one of the match,” atptour.com quoted Schnur as saying. “I just hung in there and put some pressure on him.”
Schnur will next take on Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi, who defeated Ryan Harrison.
