Atlanta provides recipe for Isner to avenge 2017 losses against Zverev

John Isner suggested that things would be different going up against Mischa Zverev at the BB&T Atlanta Open.

He was right.

Isner, who went 0-3 in this head-to-head series last season at the Australian Open, Geneva Open, and U.S. Open, exacted a measure of revenge by beating Zverev 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of his favorite tournament on Friday afternoon. The former University of Georgia standout improved to an incredible 29-4 lifetime in Atlanta after one hour and 37 minutes of play.

The first break of the day came with Zverev trying to force a tiebreaker in the opening set, as the 30-year-old German netted a forehand volley on his opponent’s third set point. From out of nowhere, though, Isner relinquished control of the match with a loss of serve at 2-2 in the second. The world No. 9 had won 26 service points in a row prior to that game.

Zverev consolidated his break the rest of the way, but another momentum swing was soon in the cards. Isner broke right away for 2-0 in the third and if it wasn’t over at that point, it was when the 6’10” American earned another scalp of the Zverev serve for a 4-0 advantage.

“Conditions are good for me,” Isner assured. “I played well today and I needed to. I’m happy to get through…. I just got on top of him early (in the third set); definitely took the pressure off.”

Next up for the four-time Atlanta champion is a Saturday semifinal against Matthew Ebden, who defeated Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-2. Edben trails the head-to-head series 3-1 but upset Isner in four sets at this year’s Australian Open.

“I’m definitely playing better than I was in the beginning of the year,” Isner noted. “To his credit he played much better than me that day in Australia. He had the home crowd on his side; it helps a lot. Now I’m sort of playing in my backyard; he beat me in his backyard. Now we’ll see if I can turn the tide.”

The top seed is joined in the semifinals by fellow American Ryan Harrison, who posted his third comeback from a set down this week with a 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-6(5) defeat of Hyeon Chung.

“I feel like after I fought through those first couple rounds, I started to feel more confident,” said Harrison, who held all 16 of his service games while winning 83 percent of his first-serve points. “I knew I was going to have to play better…. Even after making a few unforced errors in the tiebreaker, I was able to get it done. I got through so I’m really happy.

“I didn’t get broken the whole match against one of the best returners in the world. He’s No. 23 in the world and his return is probably one of his best shots, and I just played an entire match and didn’t get broken. So I’m very happy with the way I served.”

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