By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, November 4, 2017
Qualifier Filip Krajinovic won five of the last six points stunning John Isner, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), to reach his first ATP final in Paris and deny Isner's World Tour Finals bid.
Photo credit: Rolex Paris Masters Facebook
Buzzing a forehand into the corner to complete the biggest win of his career, Filip Krajinovic tossed his racquet aside and fell flat on his back in an eruption of elation.
A floored Krajinovic stuck the landing and arose blinking back tears absorbing his spirited flight to the Paris final.
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In a stunning reversal of fortune, the Serbian qualifier reeled off five of the last six points shocking John Isner, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), rallying to his first career ATP final at the Paris Rolex Masters.
Ranked No. 234 at the start of this season, Krajinovic continued a dream run in the City of Light that will propel him to a career-high rank of at least No. 33 when the new ATP rankings are released.
The 25-year-old Krajinovic gained entry to the semifinals when world No. 1 Rafael Nadal pulled out of Paris with a knee injury. He's made the most of this wild ride as the first qualifier to reach the Paris final since Jerzy Janowicz fell to David Ferrer in the 2012 title match.
Playing just his second Tour-level tournament of the season, Krajinovic used a biting backhand down the line, timely tie-break returns and stubborn self-belief withstanding 31 aces from the towering American to prevail in a pulsating two hour, 24-minute match.
Holding a 4-2 lead in the decisive tie break, Isner was three points from reaching his second straight Paris final, but Krajinovic fought off a body serve to regain the mini-break then lifted his level in a surge through the finish line.
The man who spent most of this season toiling on the Challenger circuit dropped to his knees and kissed the court in joy while his euphoric coach ripped his shirt off with Andrew Ilie-style vigor and screamed in celebration from the front row.
The 14th-ranked Isner needed to win the title to secure the eighth spot in the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals.
Despite cracking 91 aces in four tournament victories, Isner fell short of his quest to qualify for London and claim his first career indoor title.
The 77th-ranked Krajinovic will face Jack Sock in tomorrow's final. Sock can surpass Pablo Carreno Busta and secure the eighth spot in London if he wins his first career Masters title in Paris.
The 22nd-ranked Sock swept 35-year-old French wild card Julien Benneteau, 7-5, 6-2, in today's second semifinal.
Krajinovic cracked a pair of two-handed backhands down the line to save a couple of break points in his opening service game. Isner dipped an angled one-handed backhand crosscourt for a third break point, but Krajinovic was up to the task cranking a forehand winner and eventually holding through three break points for 1-all.
Isner, who did not drop serve in his quarterfinal conquest of Juan Martin del Potro yesterday, gifted the first break with self-inflicted wounds today. Missing a pair of forehands, Isner bumped a forehand volley into net dropping serve as Krajinovic claimed a 3-2 lead.
The 14th-ranked American took massage treatment for his cranky right knee during the ensuing changeover.
Working the ball corner-to-corner, Krajinovic stretched the 6’10” American to spread the court then sometimes cracked his two-hander down the line to punctuate points.
The qualifier cranked successive backhand winners down the line holding at love for 5-3.
Showing no signs of stress, Krajinovic stamped his second straight love hold to snatch a one-set lead after 32 minutes.
Breezing through his service games, Krajinovic used the backhand down the line and drop shot effectively to subdue the 2016 Paris finalist.
Deadlocked at deuce in the fifth game, Isner dodged a major test. Krajinovic attacked the American’s weaker bakchand wing, but nudged a stretched forehand volley wide. Exploting that near miss, Isner hung tough through a trick hold blocking a backhand volley for 3-2.
Isner was serving at 4-all, when a medical timeout to treat a fan in the crowd interrupted play. Following a near seven-minute delay, Isner thumped an ace to hold.
Sliding an ace down the middle, Isner opened the tie break with a bang. Krajinovic showed signs of nerves, netting a forehand then failing to put a stretched forehand back into play. An Isner attempted serve-and-volley coaxed an errant passing propelling him to a 5-0 lead.
Krajinovic finally got on the board with a second serve ace down the middle. Isner banged two aces in a row—his 14th and 15 on the day—taking the second set with a shout. He won 90 percent of first-serve points in the set.
The strong-willed Serbian saved a break point to start the third set—catching a break when Isner launched a return off a second serve long—navigating a five-deuce game to hold.
Staring down a break point in the ninth game, Krajinovic answered with a flurry of big serves banging his way through a tough hold for 5-4.
Discarding a few balls he felt had lost pressure, Isner held at 15 to force the tie break permitting just two first points on his first serve in the decider.
The qualifier blinked with an unforced error to gift the mini break on the first point. Banging his 30th ace down the middle, Isner stretched his lead to 3-0. Krajinovic responded with his 12th ace right on the center stripe for 2-3.
Fighting off a body serve wristing a backhand return at the big man’s feet, Krajinovic coaxed an awkward half-volley error snatching back the mini-break for 3-4. A backhand down the line followed by a forehand error put the qualifier up 5-4.
Dropping back several feet behind the baseline to give himself time to react on return, Krajinovic guessed correctly on the slider serve wide and flicked a forehand return hand-cuffing the net-rushing big man for match point.
Slamming a forehand into the corner, Krajinovic closed a thriller and continued the joy ride of his career.