Home Detail News

John Isner faces Marcos Baghdatis for third straight Atlanta title

Luxembourg ,

Top-seeded John Isner kept his bid for a third straight Atlanta title on track Saturday, rallying for a three-set semi-final victory over qualifier and friend Denis Kudla. Isner unleashed 25 aces and converted three of nine break chances to defeat his fellow American 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. In Sunday`s final he faces fifthseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, a 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) winner over seventhseeded Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. 

Kudla, ranked 94th in the world and still seeking a first ATP title, broke Isner for a 4-3 lead in the opening frame and went on to pocket the set in 36 minutes. Stung, Isner raised his game, blasting nine aces and breaking Kudla twice. "I got stronger and stronger as that match went on," said Isner, who dropped just six points in as many service games in the third set. "I was feeling not so great in the first set, winded.

" The 22-year-old Kudla, a friend and sometime practice partner of Isner, noted the difference, particularly in the power of Isner`s serve. "He started flattening out his serve," Kudla said. "In the beginning, he was trying to pick his spots and I could get a racket on it. When he gets up toward 140 (miles per hour), that`s when it gets tough." Baghdatis, playing his third ATP semi-final oe year, broke through to reach his first final since Kuala Lumpur in 2011.