John Isner hit 25 aces to battle past Kyle Edmund 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) reaching the semifinals at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
Edmund earned nine break points but he was not able to convert on any of them. The match went on serve with no breaks of serve and was decided by two tie-breaks. Isner fended off three break points on his serve in the 12th game of the second set forcing the second set to the tie-break. Isner rallied from 4-5 down by winning three consecutive points to win the tie-break 7-5.
Isner has improved his win-loss record to 3-1 in his four head-to-head matches against Edmund.
“I am happy with the second set and the way I played towards the end of the match. I do think I improved from yesterday. Winning matches like this give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the rest of the tournament, the Australian Open and the rest of the year”, said Isner.
Isner set up a semifinal against Ugo Humbert, who came through from the qualifying round to beat Denis Shapovalov 7-5 6-4. The Frenchman broke serve in the final game of each set and saved all four break points he faced. Humbert clinched his third win over a top 15 player.
“I tried to play every single ball, stay focused and my game plan worked”,said Humbert.
Shapovalov, who beat his compatriot Vasek Pospisil in the previous round, made six double faults on his serve, including one on the match point.
“I could not convert on some key points. I had chances in the first set and in the second set. If I had got those breaks, it would have been a whole different match. It’s a little bit unlucky but credit to him. He did a really good job”,said Shapovalov.
Benoit Paire came back from one set down to beat John Millman 3-6 6-1 6-4 in 1 hour and 42 minutes after saving five of the six break points he faced. Paire improved his win-loss record to 2-3 in his five head-to-head matches against Millman.
Millman won the opening set 6-3 with a break in the second game. Paire broke twice in a row in the fourth and sixth games to win the second set 6-1. Paire converted his second break point chance at deuce. The French player saved one break point to hold his serve in the eighth game at deuce and served out the win on his first match point.
Pole Hubert Hurkacz edged Feliciano Lopez 6-4 6-7 (11-13) 6-4. The first set went on serve until the sixth game, when Hurkacz converted on his fourth beak point chance. Lopez broke straight back at love in the seventh game. Hurkacz clinched the first set with a break in the 10th game. Lopez rallied from 1-5 down to win the tie-break 12-11. Hurkacz sealed the third set 6-4 by converting his only break point chance in the first game.
