Cincinnati Masters: Isner shocks Del Potro to reach finals

Serving for the set, Del Potro plunged the stadium into a bout of aroused anarchy when he double faulted at match point to give Isner a second life. The emboldened Isner struck a forehand return winner followed by another winner off his backhand to retrieve the break and get the set back on serve. The game was back on serve, but Isner had to survive a deuce point before holding to 5-5 in the second set.

Buoyed by his survival, Isner troubled Del Potro on his service in the next game. Only some big serving – a service winner and an ace to save the first two, followed by a gentle drop shot to save the third break point allowed the Argentine to keep his nose ahead at 6-5. Isner served with the urgency of a man possessed to hurry the set into another tie-breaker.

Del Potro began the breaker with a double fault and Isner consolidated with an ace to take a 2-0 lead. But a muffed forehand enabled Del Potro to retrieve the mini-break immediately. Isner found the range on his forehand cross court on the next point to gain another mini-break, gaining a 3-1 advantage. The Argentine made a brilliant backhand return winner to get back to 3-4.

At 5-5, Isner struck an ace to gain the first of five set points. Del Potro fought hard to prevent Isner from forcing a third set, but a double fault at 8-8 only helped Isner gain a fourth opportunity to take the second set. A forehand down the line winner kept the set alive, but Isner garnered a fifth set point with another ace. The set was finally over when Del Potro flailed a forehand out of the court. It lasted an hour and 11 minutes, just the second set.

Maybe it was the relief of staying in the match; Isner offered two break points to Del Potro in the very first game of the final set. Awakened by the danger of slipping behind, Isner saved both points only to offer a third when he dumped a forehand volley in the net. Egged on by an entire stadium of Americans, Isner managed to raise his game to score three straight winners to hold serve.

Del Potro began the second game with a double fault and Isner made him pay with an early break when Del Potro added to his woes with a couple of errors to gift away the advantage to Isner. Incredibly, Isner started the third game with a pair of double faults only to recover with a hat-trick of aces to hold serve for a commanding 3-0 lead in the third set.

Del Potro survived a pair of break points in the sixth game to remain within striking distance from his surging opponent. Isner though was in devastating serving form – striking his 22nd and 23rd aces of the match to hold serve and take the match in the ninth game. Isner struck as many as 63 winners in an action packed match that turned on its head with that double fault from Del Potro on match point at 5-3 in the second set.

“I’ve been winning a lot of matches this summer,” said Isner. “I feel like this tournament here is where I’m really starting to put it all together. I’ve beaten three Top 10 guys in a row. For me to do that, I have been playing well, really in pretty much all facets of my game. There’s definitely some stuff I can always improve on, but I do think I’m playing well.”