John Isner was impressive in recording a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win over Borna Coric to give the United States a commanding 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup quarterfinal tie.
Isner takes first set on loose Coric game
As the set unfolded, it was Coric who was surprisingly holding with relative ease whilst Isner was struggling, the teenager with five break points in the set. One of those was erased with an ace in the fifth game. After digging out of holes in the seventh and ninth games, Isner finally got into a Coric service game, the Croat double-faulting and producing three errors, the last a forehand overhit badly, siling long to give Isner the set 6-4 and stake him to a one set lead.
Isner wins the second set in eerily similar fasion to the first set
As in the first set, Coric continued to pressure the Isner serve, creating three break points, all erased by the American, his serve getting him out of trouble. Coric continued to cruise on his serve, but the same storyline was playing out in the second, the Croat's wastefulness again costing him as Isner broke in the tenth game on more Coric errors, the teenager once again overhitting. His final miss, a wild backhand, produced the only break of the second set, Isner taking it 6-4 and assuming a commanding two set lead.
Isner sweeps through the third set to win match, give USA an almost insurmountable lead
At this point, the outcome was not in doubt, Isner dialing in his big game, particularly his serve and he didn't have to wait long for the break. Unlike the first two sets, when the American struck in the tenth game, he got the break in the fourth game, a Coric backhand going hopelessly long. Now with a 3-1 lead, it was smooth sailing for Isner, Coric unable to create the break chances in the third set as he did in the first two sets. Isner took the set 6-3 and the Americans were now ahead 2-0, in an almost unassialble position and now turn to Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan to close the tie out and advance to the semifinals on Saturday.
By the numbers
The American known for his supersonic serve delivered 23 aces in the match. While Isner presented Coric with eight break points opportunities, the Croatian was unable to take advantage of the offerings. Coric saw his serve broken on three of seven break points he faced on serve. Isner was also comforted with the earlier win by Jack Sock: “It helped a lot,” he said. “I feel like it takes a bit of pressure off me as well, knowing that regardless of what I do out there on the court, we’re not going to be losing. At worst, we’ll be 1-1.”