JOHN ISNER, JACK SOCK LOOK TO KEEP AMERICAN TENNIS TRAIN ROLLING IN PARIS FOLLOWING TOUGH FIRST-ROUNDERS AT THE 2016 FRENCH OPEN IN PARIS

Written by: on 24th May 2016
French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros
JOHN ISNER, JACK SOCK LOOK TO KEEP AMERICAN TENNIS TRAIN ROLLING IN PARIS FOLLOWING TOUGH FIRST-ROUNDERS AT THE 2016 FRENCH OPEN IN PARIS

epa05322932 Jack Sock of the USA in action against Robin Haase of the Netherlands during their men's single first round match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 22 May 2016. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT  |

By Ricky Dimon

 

And then there were three.

 

That’s how many American men are left at the French Open and first-round action concluded on Tuesday; John Isner, Jack Sock, and Bjorn Fratangelo. With Fratangelo having faced compatriot Sam Querrey, at least one American was guaranteed to reach the last 64.

 

Isner and Sock made it three, but not without struggles. Both players had their matches suspended on Monday because of rain. Isner, who was locked at one set apiece with John Millman when it got called off, ended up getting the job done 6-7(4), 7-6(12), 7-6(7), 7-5. Sock and Robin Haase had split their first four sets before the world No. 25 came back out to take the fifth 6-2.

 

John Isner of USA in action against Kei Nishikori of Japan during their fourth round match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 16 March 2016. EPA/PAUL BUCK

“(In the) second set I pulled a rabbit out of my hat completely,” Isner said after beat Millman. “He was serving at 5-4, 40-0 to go up two sets to love. I was in a world of trouble right there; was able to come back and win in this long tiebreaker, and then it was dark. So I definitely slept much better being at 1-all (in sets) than 0-2. Then I came out of the gate today and played a really good game and gave it back; had to win another tiebreaker. It was a tough match.

 

“It’s a big confidence-booster for me. I’ve a lot a lot of extremely close matches this year and also came into this tournament without much match play at all. I was sidelined for a pretty long time. There were some moments in that match that I just went AWOL a bit on my serve. Three times I lost my serve. I played some pretty poor games…. That stuff comes with match toughness, I think. But getting through this one was crucial for me. I’m very happy to be moving on.

 

Isner is moving on to a first-ever meeting with Kyle Edmund. The 21-year-old Brit successfully qualified last week in Nice but suffered a nasty fall in round one against Alexander Zverev and retired with an ankle injury. Edmund was not hampered by it on Monday, when he held off Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-1. The world No. 82 now owns two career Grand Slam match victories and both have come at the French Open (the other against Stephane Robert last spring). This, however, will be Edmund’s first career second-round match at a major because he withdrew prior to facing Nick Kyrgios in 2015.

 

Sock will go up against Dustin Brown, who is also coming off a five-set win in rain-delayed match. Brown led Dudi Sela two sets to one and 2-1 in the fourth before their match got suspended. Sela eventually forced a fifth upon Monday’s resumption, but the world No. 116 ended up prevailing 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4.

 

It was the first main-draw victory at Roland Garros of Brown’s career, and it also marked his first-ever win in five sets. Brown perhaps took confidence a run through qualifying, during which he picked up a trio of wins in straight sets. Although clay favors Sock, the German’s flashy, high-risk style of play makes him a dangerous opponent on any surface.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

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