Isner Loses Heartbreaker on Grandstand 1; #1 Berdych Breezes
"Blockbuster Wednesday" certainly lived up to its billing at the
Citi Open tonight, as most of the top seeds took center stage. Not
all left victorious however, including #5 seed
John Isner, #8
Feliciano López and the #1 seeded women's doubles team. Isner's loss was particularly surprising, considering he was fresh off winning his second straight
BB&T Atlanta Open this past weekend.
Isner pulled no punches at the post-match press conference, complaining about having to play on Grandstand 1 instead of Stadium Court. To be fair, I have to agree with him. He may not be the
top ranked player here, but he's a two-time finalist (including last year) and perhaps the most popular player in the tournament. Lost in all the fuss, fellow American
Steve Johnson (ranked #68 in the world) who defeated Isner 6-7 (5-7) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) in an instant classic. Johnson was coming off a first round loss to
Sam Querrey last week in Atlanta; so he has to be thrilled at the prospect of facing #9 seed
Ivo Karlović tomorrow afternoon (ironically
on Stadium Court.) Even more ironic, Karlović stands an imposing 6'11 (an inch taller than Isner.) At least Johnson will be properly prepared!
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| John Isner on Grandstand 1 |
López was upset 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 by
Víctor Estrella Burgos, the first Dominican to ever crack the top 100 (currently #87.) Burgos moves on to face #10 seed
Santiago Giraldo, a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) winner over
Benjamin Becker on the Match Court. Also advancing, the top two men's seeds... #1
Tomáš Berdych, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over qualifier
Robby Ginepri and #2
Milos Raonic, who stopped American
Jack Sock 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3.) Don't be surprised to see
both Berdych and Raonic in a rare #1-2 final: Both looked downright unbeatable tonight.
In other matches, fan favorite
Taylor Townsend saw her impressive run come to an end (via a 6-3, 6-4 loss to
Kristina Mladenovic.) Serbian beauty
Bojana Jovanovski won a three-set thriller over #8 seed
Sorana Cîrstea 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; while #1 women's doubles team
Cara Black and
Sania Mirza lost in straight sets to Brits
Jocelyn Rae and
Anna Smith 6-4, 6-3. Also of note,
Washington Kastles captain
Leander Paes teamed up with hard serving
Sam Groth in men's doubles, disposing of
Jérémy Chardy and
Robert Lindstedt 6-1, 7-6 (6-4.)
Tomorrow's impressive schedule gets under way at 1:45 PM. Tons of great matches, but none better than Raonic vs. former U.S. Open & Wimbledon champion
Lleyton Hewitt on Stadium Court (not before 6:00 PM.)
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Click here for tonight's results.
