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  • Indianapolis Second Round: Tommy Haas vs. John Isner

    7/16/08 7:11 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - John Isner has not been around on the ATP Tour for long, but he already has a familiar foe in Tommy Haas. They will do battle for the third time in their careers on Wednesday.

    John Isner won five straight matches in third-set tiebreakers en route to the Legg Mason Classic title match last summer. Quick, who was his fourth victim?

    It was Tommy Haas, with whom Isner will square off once again in the second round of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships. Isner also defeated the German earlier this season on the hard courts of San Jose and that showdown went to three sets as well.

    Will Haas be able to exact revenge on Wednesday and improve his head-to-head record against Isner to 1-2? The No. 5 seed definitely has an outstanding chance of doing just that. Haas is often injured and he missed the French Open, but appeared healthy at Wimbledon in taking Andy Murray to four sets in round three. He also looked good in his first-round match this, ousting Jesse Levine 7-6(4), 6-2.

    Isner has also endured his fair sure of physical problems and on-court struggles in 2008. The 6'10'' American brought a disappointing 6-13 ATP match record with him into Indianapolis and perhaps his worst loss came a week ago in Newport. Despite putting up strong fights in first-round losses at both the French Open and Wimbledon, to Juan Ignacio Chela and Ernests Gulbis respecitvely, Isner got blown out on grass 6-3, 6-1 by Levine. It shouldn't take much, however, for Isner to get going because all he needs to do is get that huge serve clicking and he can beat anyone. Perhaps Isner's first-round win over Robert Kendrick on Tuesday flipped the switch on.

    Isner fired 23 aces against Kendrick in just two sets and he will probably have to come up with similar goods in order to beat Haas for a third time. If Haas gets up an early break he could run away with this match because any confidence Isner gained from the Kendrick win might evaporate. But if Isner can stay level with Haas thanks to continued massive serving, he almost always has the edge in tiebreakers due to that serve. The bottom line, however, is that Haas is just the better player right now and he should win this in two tight sets.

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