The next match played by an American man will come at the French Open, as the USA contingent at the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur saw its last representative bow out on Thursday. John Isner lost to Federico Delbonis 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(6) in a quarterfinal thriller to end his campaign as the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
Isner recovered from a set deficit by saving a match point at 4-5 in the second and then breaking Delbonis at 5-5. With momentum in hand, the world No. 11 seized a break in the third and even served for the match at 5-4. Isner could not finish the job, however, and eventually went down despite fighting off two more match points at 4-6 and 5-6 in the ensuing tiebreaker.
Isner’s exit from Nice was preceded by several American disappointments. Like Isner, Steve Johnson served for a match (in Johnson’s case twice) only to lose. The former University of Southern California star turned in a strong first-round showing against a red-hot Dominic Thiem but squandered a match point and ultimately lost 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-5.
Sam Querrey lost in qualifying but got a lucky-loser spot in the main draw when Gael Monfils withdrew. Querrey could not capitalize on the opportunity, however, as he promptly succumbed to defending champion Albert Montanes in the opening round.
Jack Sock successfully qualified and ousted Kenny De Schepper before getting an unfortunate draw against Isner in the second round. Sock was no match for his good friend in a 6-4, 6-3 loss.
Joining Querrey and Sock in Nice qualifying were Donald Young and Robby Ginepri. Young got blown out in the final round 6-1, 6-2 by Lucas Pouille. Ginepri lost his opener 7-5, 6-2 to Mate Pavic. The 31-year-old Ginepri has direct entry into the main draw at Roland Garros despite being ranked 277th in the world because he won the USTA’s wild card thanks to taking the Tallahassee Challenger title three weeks ago.
Topics: French Open, Ricky Dimon, sports news, Tennis
NOT A NICE FRENCH OPEN WARMUP FOR AMERICAN MEN IN NICE BY RICKY DIMON (@RD_Tennistalk) – http://t.co/lz7s3dKJjU @frenchopen4you #tennis
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