3 Round Match.....

ROUND 3

Date: Sept 2

Roger Federer d. John Isner

6-7(4) 6-2 6-4 6-2

I can’t say that with certainty just yet, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised each time I’ve watched the mellow American giant play. I thought his nerves would affect him, but that didn’t appear to be the case; Isner seems terminally even-keel and positive. The natural hit-and-miss quality of his game may keep him from getting testy when things go bad—errors are just part of the game when you’re a 6-foot-9 crush-and-rusher.

Isner has the serve, of course, but he has a very heavy and penetrating forehand when he times it right and surprising feel on his flicky two-handed backhand; he makes a lot of shots you think he should miss given his generally ungainly form. Isner is also adept at blocking returns back and smart enough to know that his size gives him a head start at the net, so he might as well get in there. On the minus side, the American takes a while to unfold his long body on his forehand, often catching it a second late and sending it long. At 3-3 in the third, he hit three forehands just over the baseline and was broken. And defense? Let’s just say it isn’t Isner’s specialty. As I’ve said, he struggles to track down anything tailing away from him to his right, and his answer when he’s on the run is pretty much to grip and rip. Still, a few months after finishing a four-year college career, he took a set from Roger Federer in the third round of the U.S. Open. That's not something that happens in tennis anymore. 35 service points won in-a-row by Federer during the 3rd and 4th sets. Truly amazing!!