By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, November 5, 2015
John Isner smacked 27 aces toppling Roger Federer 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (5) in a Paris Masters thriller, his first win over Federer in three years.
Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil/FFT
The crowd was rocking and Roger Federer was rolling.
John Isner was resolute.
Energized by the sight of Federer fighting off three match points in the decisive tie break, the Paris faithful erupted in rhythmic clapping urging Federer to finish the comeback.
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Isner heard the roars and faced the frenzy pressing the mute button.
Banging a serve winner out wide, Isner closed a thriller with a thumper earning a 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory at the BNP Paribas Masters Paris.
Playing one of his most complete matches of the season, Isner cracked 27 aces with no double faults and saved five of six break points beating Federer for the first time since the 2012 Davis Cup opener when he upset the Swiss on red clay.
Federer fell despite denying all six break points he faced.
"For me against a guy like him I gotta try to put constant pressure on him and that's what I did," Isner told Tennis Channel's Mark Knowles afterward. "I was still very confident it was on my racquet at 6-5. I just reared back and tried to hit my biggest serve. I think I did hit my biggest serve. I really, really needed it. I'm really happy to pull through. It was a great win for me."
The 2011 Paris semifinalist will face 2012 tournament champion David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.
The eighth-seeded Spaniard outdueled Grigor Dimitrov, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4, on the strength of five service breaks.
The towering American is sometimes typecast as a serving terminator whose strong-arm lacks variety and imagination. His ability to shift speeds and vary court position were on display today. Isner edged the game's most versatile player because of that booming serve and his willingness to work the net, sometimes with surprising finesse.
Isner won of 25 of 38 net trips, including a creative lob-volley to take the mini-break and 2-1 lead in the final tie break.
Fresh off his seventh Basel title, Federer struck cleanly, won 13 of 17 trips to net and saved all six break points he faced. But in the breakers he could not crack the man he had beaten in five of their last six tie break sets. Isner mastered those small margins better today.
Stretching his six-foot-10 frame in the front court, Isner nudged a stretched forehand volley that kissed the tape to finish off a challenging hold for 5-4.
Federer spun his sixth ace off the sideline holding to force the first-set tie break.
Backing up Federer with a deep return, Isner stepped up and obliterated a forehand winner down the line, snatching the first mini-break and a 2-1 lead. Successive aces stretched the lead to 4-1. A biting body serve into Federer's hip gave Isner three set points at 6-3. On the 11-shot rally that followed, Isner took the initiative drawing an errant forehand from Federer for a one-set lead after 45 minutes of play.
Federer fought off three break points to start the second set then pinned the American in his backhand corner before finishing with a forehand crosscourt for a demanding hold.
Isner saved a pair of break points in the fourth game in a prelude of the pressure to come. Federer angled off his slice backhand forcing the big man to bend and coaxing the break for a 4-2 lead. Guiding a slick backhand volley winner, Federer closed the second set to force the decider.
As the crowd and Isner's grunts of effort both grew louder, Federer twisted the screws with a break-point chance in the fifth game. A wicked twisting backhand brought the man forward. Federer tried dipping the pass. Isner issued an outrageous drop volley that died with backspin, eventually holding for 3-2.
Off an abbreviated backswing, Federer snapped forehand return winner down line. He stung a backhand pass that rattled Isner's racquet for break point in the seventh game. Isner erase it with a serve winner down the middle, holding on for 4-3.
Serving at 4-5, Federer was wrong-footed on an Isner return and ballooned a backhand for 15-30. Isner had a good look at a backhand down the line that would have given him double match point. He drifted it wide, then bent over staring at the court while agonizing over a costly miss.
Slamming an ace to start the decisive tie break, Isner then came face to face with Federer at net at 1-all.
Inside the serve box, Federer can befuddle anyone with angle and spin, but this time Isner pulled out the surprise volley lob. Federer showed impressive hops soaring for the ball, but he snapped a spinning high backhand volley into net, as Isner earned the mini break.
An ace and serve winner stretched the lead to 4-1 as coach Justin Gimelstob exhorted his charge in support.
Charging behind a return, Isner earned another mini break then blistered a body serve to earn four match points at 6-2.
Federer wasn't finished. He hit a tremendous swing backhand volley off the back of the baseline to save the first match point and cracked successive serve winners to erase two more match points and draw to 5-6 and incite crowd crescendo.
Isner waited for the crowd to quiet then silenced the threat with one final slashing serve.