John Isner and Lleyton Hewitt are set for a second Newport meeting in as many years on Saturday during semifinal action. Michael Russell and Nicolas Mahut will also bid for a place in the title match.
(4) Lleyton Hewitt vs. (2) John Isner
Isner and Hewitt will be facing each other for the fifth time in their careers and for the second time this season when they collide in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Saturday. Hewitt leads the head-to-head series 3-1 after prevailing 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 four months ago in Indian Wells. Their only previous grass-court encounter came in the final of this same event last summer, when Isner triumphed 7-6(1), 6-4.
It has been an up-and-down season for both men. Isner, who dealt with knee problems in Australia and at Wimbledon, is a modest 19-15 for his 2013 campaign follow straight-set Newport dismissals of Ryan Harrison, Adrian Mannarino, and Ivo Karlovic. Hewitt took care of Matthew Ebden, Prakash Amritraj, and Jan Hernych en route to the last four. The 64th-ranked Aussie is 15-11 for the year. A two-time defending champion of this tournament, Isner is 13-0 in his last 13 Newport matches and he is 13-0 in tiebreakers during this stretch. He will have to serve incredibly well, though, to force tiebreakers against a returner and defender of Hewitt’s quality. Both players have improved on grass throughout their careers, but the slick stuff still gives a slight edge to Hewitt.
Pick: Hewitt in 3
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Nicolas Mahut vs. Michael Russell
Mahut and Russell will be squaring off for the second time in their careers and for the first time in more than 12 years on Saturday. Their only previous encounter came way back at the 2001 French Open, where Russell cruised 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Both veterans are still going relatively strong despite being in what are presumably the latter stages of their professional campaigns. Russell, 35, registers inside the Top 100 at 95th in the world and he is coming off a Challenger title last week in Manta, Ecuardo. The American defeated Illya Marchenko, Alex Kuznetsov, and Igor Sijsling to book his spot in the Newport semis.
Having also spent a fair amount of time this season at the Challenger level, Mahut’s ATP Tour sample size is a small one but he boasts an outstanding 10-3 record. The 31-year-old Frenchman captured his first-ever ATP title last month in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and so far this week he has ousted Rhyne Williams, Tim Smyczek, and Michal Przysiezny all in straight sets. Surface will generally dictate the outcome of this matchup. Whereas Russell would prefer to play on a slower surface, Mahut has always done his best work on grass. As long as Mahut has even a decent serving day, he should be able to dictate play with his all-court game and force Russell into too many defensive situations.
Pick: Mahut in 2
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