Thursday at the US Men’s Tennis Championships was a day for the seeded players to celebrate with seven progressing to the quarter-finals at the tournament for the first time since 1986.
The dismal performance of team USA in last weekend’s Davis Cup proved to be a distant memory with all five Americans triumphing in their second round match. Headlining those was top seed Jack Sock. Taking to the court against 39-year-old veteran Tommy Haas, the world No.16 battled his way to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, triumph.
“I knew it was going to be fun to go out there. Who knows how many he has left in him,” said Sock, who saved four out of five break points. “He gave his all. I had to come through with some good tennis in the end to win.”
Illness failed to deter John Isner from smashing 19 aces past Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer to win 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-3. The two-and-a-half-hour epic saw both men display their best service ability. In the entire match, only once did a player drop serve (Mayer in the deciding set). The display was even more impressive considering Isner’s ongoing struggle with his health, which he refuses to use as an excuse.
“I woke up this morning and didn’t feel great. Fortunately, a lot of times it can be really humid here, but it wasn’t bad today. It’s been a lot worse. But there’s no excuses. Jack, Sam and Steve are all in the same boat as me. We were on the same flights. Those guys feel better than me, so they did something smarter than I did.” he explained.
2013 champion John Isner is through to his third quarterfinal of the year following 6-7(5) 7-6(3) 6-3 win over Leonardo Mayer. #USClay pic.twitter.com/LDBO3HlzE2
— US Men’s Clay Court (@mensclaycourt) April 13, 2017
Awaiting Isner will be the youngest player left in the draw, 20-year-old Ernesto Escobedo. The wildcard entrant continued his dream run in Houston by downing Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Breaking into the top-100 earlier this year, Escobedo will now play in his first ATP quarter-final.
Completing the American dream day was seeds Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson. Two-time runner-up Querrey was near perfect on his first serve (winning 32 out of 33 points) during his 6-4, 6-4, triumph over Horacio Zeballos. Meanwhile, Steve Johnson overcame a marathon first set to dismiss Dustin Brown 7-6(12), 6-4.
This year sees five American’s in the last eight at the Houston tournament for the first time since 2002. It is a rare occurrence to see for a nation that normally thrive on the hard-courts. An American man hasn’t won the French Open since Andre Agassi in 1999.
“(Today, Thursday) shows Americans can play on clay,” rising Escobedo said about his country’s triumph. “We just have to stay mentally tough. If we stay patient, it’s great surface for us, too. I started slow, but I told myself to dictate as much as I could with the forehand and, once I did that, I fell into a zone. When I do that, I feel unstoppable.”
Verdasco clinches 200th win on clay
Houston isn’t just about the American contingent. Tour veteran Fernando Verdasco ensured that he would be part of the memorable day. The former champion carefully eased his way past Nicolas Kicker 7-6(4), 6-1. The victory rewarded the 33-year-old his third appearance in an ATP quarter-final this season and more importantly, his 200th career win on the clay.
“It’s always nice to achieve something like this,” Chron.com quoted Verdasco as saying. “It’s why one works so hard for so long.”
Five out of the seven titles won be Verdasco has occurred on the clay, including the 2014 Houston Championships.
Verdasco will be joined in the next round by compatriot Feliciano Lopez. The sixth seed battled back to defeat Hyeon Chung 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Quarter-final line-up
.@mensclaycourt QFs:
.@JackSock–@feliciano_lopez
.@SJohnson_89–@FerVerdasco
.@BellucciOficial-Sam Querrey
Ernesto Escobedo-@JohnIsner— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) 14 April 2017
