John Isner continued his outstanding form at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday, stunning third seed Stan Wawrinka 7-6(1), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.
“I thought I played pretty well out there. I'm going out there against the No. 3 player in the world. Maybe I have a little bit less to lose than he does,” said Isner. “I went out there with the belief that if I played well and executed my game plan, I could walk off that court with a win. That's what happened today. I served well and took my chances when I had them. I was very happy with the performance.”
The American improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Wawrinka to 3-1 and has won their past three matches. This is his first win over a Top 10 player on clay at an ATP World Tour event – his previous two Top 10 wins on clay in 2012, over Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, came at Davis Cup ties.
Isner’s serve has been particularly strong this week in Rome. He’s hit 72 aces in three matches and only dropped serve once. His top tennis has also carried over to doubles, where he’s in the quarter-finals with fellow American Jack Sock.
Next up for Isner is another big server in sixth seed Marin Cilic, who dismissed in-form ninth seed David Goffin 6-3, 6-4. Cilic won 77 per cent of his serve points and struck his returns with authority, accumulating 11 break points and converting on eight. The Croatian has excelled on clay this season, taking the title two weeks ago in Istanbul (d. Raonic).
Cilic leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Isner 6-1, but the American won their most recent match this past November at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Paris.
“He has been a bit of a thorn in my side. He's playing well and seems to be serving very well also,” said Isner. “It should be a close match. Not much has separated us when we have played each other in the past.”
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Wawrinka is left to ponder his next steps after a disappointing clay season that has left him with a 2-3 record so far. But having won Roland Garros in 2015 and reached the semi-finals in 2016, he is more than capable of producing top tennis on the red dirt over the next three weeks.
Both men held serve throughout the opening set, but Isner raced to a 5/0 lead in the tie-break before clinching the early lead. The American grabbed the lone break of the match at 3-3 in the second set before comfortably serving out the contest on his first try.