It was John Isner who stopped Juan Martin Del Potro one match short of a berth in the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals. Will it be Isner who prevents Del Potro from capturing the Indian Wells-Miami Sunshine Double?
The Argentine, who is coming off consecutive titles in Acapulco and Indian Wells while enjoying a current 15-match winning streak, is now set for a Miami Open semifinal showdown against Isner on Friday. Del Potro leads the head-to-head series 6-3, but Isner has won three of their last five meetings after most recently prevailing 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 at the Paris Masters last fall. They previously faced each other in 2017 at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, where Del Potro improved to 4-1 lifetime against Isner on outdoor hard courts by getting the job done 7-5, 7-5.
Nobody–not just Isner–has found much success against Del Potro of late. The world No. 6 went 20-5 in his last 25 matches during the 2017 campaign and he is 21-3 so far this season. Del Potro beat three top-10 opponents (Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, and Kevin Anderson) in Acapulco, upset Roger Federer in the Indian Wells final, and has advanced so far in Miami with victories over Robin Haase, Kei Nishikori, Filip Krajinovic, and Milos Raonic–the latter in a 5-7, 7-6(1), 7-6(3) thriller on Wednesday night.
“I always think this may be my last match (of the tournament), so I put in a lot of effort to give myself a chance to win,” Miami’s fifth seed commented. “I’m pleased with my level of tennis and all my success, but of course I’d like to reach the final.”
“Del Potro is playing the best tennis in the world right now,” Isner praised. “I don’t think that can be argued.”
Arguably no one, however, has been better than Isner so far this fortnight. The 6’10” American dropped one set to Jiri Vesely in his opener while struggling with an apparent groin issue, but he picked up the pace to take down Mikhail Youzhny, Marin Cilic, and Hyeon Chung in straight sets while playing only one tiebreaker–and winning it 7-0 over Cilic.
“This is actually the best I’ve moved all year,” Isner said following his 6-1, 6-4 quarterfinal rout of Chung on Wednesday afternoon. “That’s not working harder, or training harder off the court; that’s just from me being more confident on the court. More than anything it’s all between the ears…. The way I (have) played this week is a lot of fun.”
The world No. 17’s previous struggles (a 2-6 record this season prior to Miami) kept him well-rested for this fortnight, whereas his opponent is clearly running on fumes. Del Potro cannot expect to get the same kind of service gifts in the semis that he got from Raonic in the two tiebreakers and early in the third set. Isner has been broken just once in his last three matches and has faced only one break point in his last two outings. Moreover, his favorite shots are a kick serve out wide to the backhand side and an inside-out forehand–both of which exploit Del Potro’s weaker side.
This will undoubtedly be competitive, but a fresher Isner should have an easier time coming up with the goods on serve during the latter stages of each set.
Pick: Isner in 2
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