Bercy Day Three – Isner Ends Year: By Richard Evans

Written by: Staff on 31st October 2013

Bercy Day Three – Isner Ends Year: By Richard Evans |

Roger Federer looked smooth; Juan Martin del Potro and Stan Wawrinka determined but it was Tomas Berdych who put an end to the faint hopes Milos Raonic had of making the ATP World Finals in London next week when he defeated the young Canadian 7-6, 6-4 after grabbing a prolonged first set breaker 15-13.

This means that the Last Eight is set. With Andy Murray out injured, the players ranked No 8 & 9 will play at the 02 – Warwrinka and Richard Gasquet. Roanic had to get to the final here to have any chance of ousting one of them.

Roanic will not be alone in heading home across the Atlantic tonight. Novak Djokovic brought John Isner’s year to a close here at this ATP Masters 1000 event with a 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory.

After playing a fine first set, Isner went down to the man he had beaten in Cincinnati when they last met in August. But that was in America. Isner’s other victory over Djokovic also came on US soil, in the semi-final at Indian Wells in 2012.

The point I am making can be highlighted when you scrutinize what Isner described to me as “another pretty good year.” He won two ATP titles (in Houston and Atlanta) reached two other finals and three semi-finals. All in North America. If Isner was playing on the PGA tour he would be doing very well indeed. But the ATP is a properly global circuit and, to date, the big man from North Carolina has not travelled well.

When he got as far as the last eight in Beijing a month ago, it was the first time all year that Isner had reached a quarter final abroad.

One could produce a quick riposte to this observation, of course, by pointing out that two of the greatest victories of John’s career came, not only in Europe but on red clay. Beating Roger Federer in Switzerland and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Monte Carlo Country Club were triumphs to savor but, in both cases, the situation was different. He was playing Davis Cup for his country and, sitting at courtside, was a motivational fellow called Jim Courier who knew all about how to win in Europe.

When Isner returned to play ATP events in Europe a couple of weeks after the tie against France with no coach at courtside, he looked lost and played like it. This tendency to play below his best away from home is frustrating because as Djokovic volunteered after today’s match, “If he serves well, he’s dangerous for any player. He can win against anybody, really.”

The turn around after winning the first set was stark. Having hit his spots and played a good first set which he won 7-5, Isner just seemed to go away.

“I wasn’t feeling good, my stomach was off,” he said. “Maybe something I ate. I certainly wasn’t firing on all cylanders which you have to be against him.”

Djokovic said that Isner had told him it was abdominal strain when they spoke at the net but that was not what John told me. So take your pick. Whatever it was contributed to a stroll to the finish line for Djokovic.

Isner agreed that the Serb has no weaknesses in his armor-clad game. “You just have to try and make him think a little and hope he starts making mistakes,” he said.

Djokovic admitted that playing Isner can get into your head. “In the first set I was returning well, playing well, you know, and I had many opportunities but didn’t use them. When I was a set down I was frustrated but I tried to hold my composure. It’s not the first time I’m in this particular situation so that experience helped, too, believing I could win.”

If Isner needs to do one thing in 2014, it is finding a way to carry the belief in his own game overseas. Then, instead of finishing in the top twenty, as he has done impressively enough for the past four years, he could become the top ten player American tennis craves.

I don’t know if Federer’s belief in himself has wavered at all in the last few months but he looked confident enough today, sweeping past Phlipp Kohlschreiber, a German he had beaten seven times out of seven, 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour 3 minutes.

Wawrinka needed only a few minutes longer to outhit Spain’s Nicolas Almagro while del Potro had to fight back from losing the first set before beating the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Del Potro has already qualified for London and could have taken his foot off the gas but he is on a winning streak after retaining his title in Basel last Sunday and is obviously keen to take another crack at Federer whom he plays next.

Topics: Andy Murray, ATP World Tour Finals, Juan Martin Del Potro, milos raonic, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

October 31, 2013 at 12:31 pm

Bercy Day Three – Isner Ends Year: By @Ringham7 – http://t.co/jaK0lE2iTm @rogerfederer @BleacherReport @TMZ_Sports @JohnIsner #tennis
Ringham7 says:

October 31, 2013 at 1:45 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: Bercy Day Three – Isner Ends Year: By @Ringham7 – http://t.co/jaK0lE2iTm @rogerfederer @BleacherReport @TMZ_Sports @JohnI…