ATP Geneva: Lukas Rosol surprises John Isner to reach the quarterfinals

It was day four at the 2016 Geneva Open on Wednesday, and the line-up featured five seeds across two courts as the final quarterfinal places were secured. Fourth-seeded John Isner was surprised by Lukas Rosol, who edged a tight affair including two consecutive tiebreaks. Elsewhere Thomaz Bellucci’s hopes of retaining his 2015 crown were ended in comfortable fashion by Federico Delbonis, whilst David Ferrer scraped through due to Denis Istomin retiring after leading by a set.

Rosol stuns Isner in three sets

John Isner's return was ended early by Lukas Rosol in Geneva (Photo: Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open/Vincent Mivelaz)

30-year-old Rosol backed up his victory over qualifier Roberto Ortega-Olmedo by defeating Isner in three close sets to progress to the last eight in Geneva. The Czech did not create a single break point throughout the match but took advantage of two consecutive tie-breakers to win 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5).

The encounter was dominated by serve, with the first break points only coming in the eighth game on the Rosol serve. On this occasion, he saved both but was unable to prevent Isner finally taking one when the set seemed to be heading to a tiebreaker at 6-5. The pair were unable to register a break point between them in the second set, with four games being held to love. Rosol was the first one to secure a mini-break in the tie-breaker, establishing an early 3-0 lead before handing the advantage back to level the shootout at 5-5.

Another mini-break would have seemingly been enough for either player, and Rosol ensured this by clinching the set on his first set point. The match was decided in a third set tie-breaker, as neither player again could even get close to grabbing a crucial breakthrough on the other’s serve. This time, there were several mini-breaks, and it looked as though Isner would cruise to victory after establishing a 4-2 lead at the first changeover. The unseeded Czech had other ideas and won five of the next six points to end Isner’s return to the tour at its first stage.

Delbonis comprehensively ends Bellucci’s title defence

Delbonis puts an end to Bellucci's hopes of retaining his title (Photo: Getty Images/Clive Brunskill)

Last year’s semifinalist Federico Delbonis comfortably ended Thomaz Bellucci’s title defence in Geneva, by winning 6-3, 6-0. The pair had met six times previously, with the Argentine edging the meetings 4-2, but this was the most emphatic and surprising considering their form.

It was Bellucci who took the initial lead in the second round clash, by breaking in the fifth game to lead *3-2. This advantage was immediately handed back in the following few games as Delbonis won four games in a row to take the first set 6-3. This setback appeared to affect the Brazilian, and this resulted in him being bageled by the world number 33, who reeled off ten games in a row to reach the last eight. This was a staggering difference from Bellucci’s fortunes last week, where he served a bagel to the world number one in Rome.

Other day four results

Marin Cilic is Delbonis' opponent in the last eight (Photo: Getty Images/Julian Finney)

Delbonis will take on third seed Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals after the returning Croat defeated Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the final match of the day session. Second seed Ferrer survived in the draw, due to Istomin’s retirement in the second set, after the 29-year-old had surprisingly taken the first set 6-3. There were also wins for Andrey Kuznetsov, who defeated Steve Johnson 7-5, 6-4 and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez who saw-off Rajeev Ram 6-4, 7-6 (4).

There were only two matches completed in the doubles event, with the top seeds Ram and Raven Klaasen cruising past Kuznetsov and Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-2. Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop were unable to back up their impressive victory from the previous day, as they exited Geneva after losing 7-6 (6), 5-7, 7-10 in a final champions tie-break.

Day five preview

Top seed Stan Wawrinka is back in action on day five (Photo: Getty Images/Clive Brunskill)

All four quarterfinal matches are scheduled to take place on day five, with Delbonis taking on Cilic in the first match on Court Central. They are followed by the clash of the Spaniards, as Garcia-Lopez looks to improve on his poor 1-10 head-to-head record against Ferrer. Stan Wawrinka faces Pablo Carreno Busta in the opening match of the evening session before Rosol and Kuznetsov bring day five to an end.

There are two doubles matches scheduled on Court One, including the completion of Manuel Pena Lopez and Janko Tipsarevic against Johnson and Sam Querrey. The Americans hold a 6-5 lead, but the match was suspended late on day four.