John Isner, in his home country, met Fabio Fognini for the second time in his career. Through plenty of rain, the American came away with another victory in this Western & Southern Open first round matchup, 6-3, 6-2. The match—including the rain delay—lasted just 77 minutes. To no one’s surprise, Isner’s serve was the weapon of choice in this match, while his opponent’s serve fell flat when he needed it most. Despite racking up double faults, Fognini played well with his forehand, and if that sounds like a backhanded compliment, that's because it is. However, his backhand deserves little compliment in this match; often times it was a shot in the foot—one that already had blister issues—when he needed it most.
Isner takes first set after long wait
Thanks to some mighty rainfall, the players were sent inside shortly after warm-ups—delaying the match start nearly three hours. When play finally began, Isner was given an early scare; at 30-30, Fognini hit a backhand pass down the line to see the match’s first break point. It was a trio of big serves that lead the 6’10” American to his escape as he took a 1-0 lead. In the next game, another backhand from Fognini set up break point, but this time it was slapped into the net with Isner being the beneficiary. Finishing a rally with a crosscourt volley, the world number 22 broke to grow his lead to 2-0; a hold at 15 consolidated the break, and Isner was halfway to a one set lead.
The trend of Fognini backhands setting up break points lived on through the fourth game: another one slapped into the net opened the door for Isner. However, unlike the first one, the 31-year-old couldn't break so easily—hitting a forehand wide to make the score deuce. Some well-played tennis and a rocket forehand winner saved the game for the Italian. He was finally in the scoring column, down 1-3. It took Isner just 87 seconds to respond with a hold at love. Although it appeared Fognini would grab a love hold of his own, his opponent grabbed two quick points before falling at 30. In the last game before the first set of new balls, Isner got two more aces out of the old ones—holding at 15 to take a 5-2 lead.
Break points continued to be a thing of the past as another hold from Fognini made it five straight among the two competitors. Unsurprisingly, Isner’s first set point came via an ace; however, the set wouldn't finish just yet as a volley into the net delayed the conclusion. The 5’10” Italian even found a break point on a beautiful cross-court winner out of nowhere brought back hope. An unreturned serve out wide and a high-bouncing ace down the T set up another set point for the American, and keeping with the theme, a Fognini backhand error concluded the set, 6-3, in just over 32 minutes.
Along with a 12-inch advantage in height, Isner was able to dominate through his serve and his volleying—winning 8-of-12 net points and hitting seven aces.
Isner finishes match in blistering fashion
The second set began with Fognini holding at 30 to take the first lead, 1-0. Another game passed, and Isner remained unbroken in the match with a hold at 15. The paradigm shifted for the Italian in the third game; instead of setting up break point with his backhand, he double-faulted to gift a look to his American opponent. Lucky for the world number 38, his opponent hit consecutive forehands into the net to give the advantage to the server. Unfortunately, the serving woes continued with another double fault, but Fognini found a way to dodge a break with only a bleeding hand and minor racket abuse. Isner, on the other hand, was able to hold much easier—giving up just one point in the process. After one more double fault, a forehand error from Fognini set up a break point, and a second forehand error long gave away the break.
Trailing 2-3, the Italian showed some frustration and was issued a warning for launching a ball into the crowd. A hold at 15 consolidated the break for Isner, and a 4-2 lead looked to be good enough to ride out for a ticket to the second round as Fognini used a medical timeout. After almost eight minutes since the previous point, the 29-year-old served without much success. At 15-30, another backhand error set up break point, and a forehand out long quickly ended Fognini’s serve. Up a double-break, Isner was one hold away from the second round. A pair of big serves gave the American a 30-0 advantage; a forehand pass from Fognini made it 30-15 before the rain returned, and play was delayed for about ten minutes.
When play resumed, Isner concluded the match with a forehand winner crosscourt and an ace out wide.
Today’s 6-3, 6-2 victory will push Isner into the second round where he will set up a battle of arguably the game’s two best servers; the American will face none other than Milos Raonic—who he has beaten in all three of their previous matchups.