Match report

Nikolay Davydenko © Tennistalk.com
The Hypo Group Tennis International
2nd round
5/22/08 1 2 3 Tot
ru  Nikolay Davydenko 6 6 6 6 2
us  John Isner 2 7 8 3 1
John Isner © Tennistalk.com

  • Isner Tests Davydenko, But Falls in Three

    5/22/08 5:50 PM | Ricky Dimon
    Despite going up against the No. 4 player in the world and playing on his least favored surface, John Isner saves a match point in the second set to extend Nikolay Davydenko to three. Davydenko, however, survives to reach the quarterfinals.

    Nikolay Davydenko outlasted John Isner 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3 in the second round of the Hypo Group International in Poertschach, setting up a quarterfinal clash with sixth-seeded Andreas Seppi that will be contested later in the day.

    Davydenko came in as the heavy favorite because his stellar return of serve can counter Isner's biggest weapon, especially when the dirt slows up Isner's massive deliveries. That's how the first set went, as Isner never even gave himself a chance by putting in just 40 percent of his first serves. The 6'9'' American, far outclassed from the baseline, also won just six return points in the opening frame of play.

    Against all odds, however, Isner turned things around in set two. More specifically, he turned his serve around. Isner made 71 percent of his first balls and fired a ridiculous 13 aces in six service games. Neither man could do much of anything against his opponent's serve as the second set progressed to a tiebreaker. Davydenko had a match point at 6-5, but Isner saved it with an ace and won the next two points to level the match.

    With Davydenko's superior groundstrokes and movement on display, Isner's only hope was to keep up his other-worldly serving. Unfortunately that did not happen, as he didn't put in enough first serves and had just three aces in the final set. One break was all Davydenko needed as the favored survived 6-3.

    Davydenko leads Seppi 2-1 in their head-to-head series, including 1-0 on clay.

Tell a friend »

Other articles related to the tournament

Click here fore more articles

Comments


Write comment

You have to be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, click here to register. It only takes a minute and you'll be redirected back to this page.
Username:

Password:

Expekt.com offers you the widest range and best odds on all tennis matches. Click here to bet and check all the latest tennis odds from expekt.com

Did you know that... While in high school, Andy Roddick played basketball with fellow pro tennis player Mardy Fish.

Register for newsletter:

Poll

The Davis Cup winners 2008 are?
Argentina
Spain

Poll archive

Articles - Latest commented

Blog - Latest commented

Tell a friend

Your name:

Friend's name:

Friend's email:

Other tennis links

Related articles

ru  Nikolay Davydenko us  John Isner
The Hypo Group Tennis International  The Hypo Group Tennis International