There were three five-setters at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, and in each of those matches the eventual winner recovered from a two sets to one deficit.
Dominic Thiem, John Isner, and Denis Shapovalov battled into the third round in dramatic fashion. Thiem edged Steve Johnson 6-7(5), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, Isner outlasted Nicolas Jarry 6-7(7), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4, and Shapovalov beat Andreas Seppi 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-4.
“I feel very good now,” Thiem concluded from the comfort of the press room. “Well, before the match I expected a tough one against Steve, because he’s in great form. It’s not really a great feeling to expect a tough match in these conditions, because it was really, really hot out there. At the end, I’m super happy to be through.”
“It was a struggle; really from the get-go,” Isner commented. “I mean, [Jarry] played well. He served well. I had chances. Five break points at 3-all in the fifth; disappointing not to break there. But I just kept plugging away.
“The fifth set was far and away the best I played the whole match. So that’s pretty encouraging, I think. It was a struggle at times, but I’m happy to get through.”
“It was pretty crazy,” Shapovalov said after surviving Seppi about 30 minutes following Isner’s victory. “Yeah, it was long; it was long and physical. Obviously I feel tired now. I’m lucky I’m only 19 years old. I feel pretty good. I’ll be ready for Friday.
“But, yeah, through the third set, it was a little bit difficult. I had the break up, then my serve kind of fell apart. I let go (of) that set. I just told myself, ‘Listen, just pick it back up, fight for every point, just go out there and battle your heart out. That’s what I did, and got the fourth set 7-6. I used that momentum in the fifth.”
Next up for Shapovalov is Kevin Anderson, a straight-set winner over Jeremy Chardy. Thiem and Isner will be favored in their third-rounders against Taylor Fritz and Dusan Lajovic, respectively.
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Happy for all 3,loved the Isner lob!
Isner lob was huge
Those were 3 fun matches to watch (on ESPN+)….lots of guts tennis from all 6 players, and yes, that Isner lob on break point was HUGE! can’t wait for today’s action.