John Isner will be looking to make it two titles in two weeks when he takes the court on Sunday in Washington, D.C. Standing in his way, however, is No. 1 seed Juan Martin Del Potro.
(1) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (8) John Isner
Del Potro and Isner will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they collide in the final of the Citi Open on Sunday. Somewhat supririsngly given his propensity for competitive matches, Isner has never taken a single set off Del Potro. The Argentine prevailed 6-4, 6-4 at this same event in 2008, won in two tiebreakers at the Indian Wells Masters one season later, and he most recently triumphed 6-4, 6-3 on the indoor hard courts of Memphis in 2011.
Isner, though, is a different beast during the American hard-court summer (and much improved from what he was in 2008)–and he is proving it again right now. The 6’9” American captured the title last weekend in Atlanta and so far in Washington, D.C.–where he was the 2007 runner-up–he has defeated Alex Kuznetsov, Somdev Devvarman, Marcos Baghdatis, and Dmitry Tursunov.
At the same time, Del Potro is in similarly outstanding form. The world No. 7 reached the semifinals of Wimbledon before losing to top-ranked Novak Djokovic in an epic five setter. Del Potro has kicked it right back into gear with straight-set victories this week at the expense of Ryan Harrison, Bernard Tomic, Kevin Anderson, and Tommy Haas.
This promises to be a high-quality and close encouter–perhaps even closer than their Indian Wells meeting. That’s because Isner is serving up a storm at the moment. The world No. 20 has been broken only once so far this tournament and he fired 29 aces compared to just one double-fault against Tursunov. In his last 44 service games, Isner has dropped a ridiculous 39 points. Furthermore, not only are both men playing great but they are also formidable in ATP title matches. Del Potro is 14-6 lifetime while Isner is 7-7 but 4-0 in his last four dating back to last summer.
A slight edge goes to the top seed, who has been in cruise-control while watching Isnet battle through consecutive three-setters in the quarters and semis.
Pick: Del Potro in 3
[polldaddy poll=7297151]
who ya got?
I think Delpo wins this. He was looking sharp against Anderson. I know that this time of year is good for Isner and finally he has shown some signs of getting back on track. However, I just think Delpo has too much variety in his game. He’s got the big serve and that powerful forehand which he is hitting better than he has since his wrist injury cost him a year out of action. He has powerful groundstrokes and has shown a nice touch at net. His movement is very good for a big man.
My pick is Delpo in three.
My pick is Delpo in 2 TB’s.
Delpo in three.
6-7, 7-6, 6-4
My scoreline was way off the mark 🙁
After the rather flat start from Delpo he picked up his game to an awesome level apart from the slight stutter when serving for the match. Unfortunately today showed up the limitations in Isner’s game once his serve goes awol.
what the hell happened to Isner? I didn’t see it.
Ricky,
A few things. Isner started out strong and won the first set easily. But Delpo seemed to get it together in the second shot and served well and was pounding his groundstrokes. Isner’s serve let him down in that second set. When they put up the stats after the second set if I recall, Isner only had 59% of first serves in and 40% won and only 29% of second serves won. Pretty dismal. Delpo took control of that set and then his momentum carried over into the third set when he got the early break.
Delpo is really looking good right about now. Isner was having trouble hanging with Delpo in their rallies. The power and accuracy of Delpo’s groundstrokes had Isner scrambling. The serve was working so well for Isner in the first set and then his game seems to come together. But it just fell apart after that.
Nah Ricky, nothing happened to Izzy. Delpo’s tactics while returning were too much for Izzy. In the rallies, Izzy was no match for Delpo’s groundies of both wings.
I just realized that my prediction was accurate – I picked Delpo in three! But I didn’t bother to give the score.
hmmm, this Delpo’s giving me serious food for thought. He is looking really sharp. While I’m happy he’s back to his old self, I am beginning to see him as a serious threat to Rafa domination. He will be in the Montreal final for sure……..
Razor sharp!!! If he can stay injury free I reckon he will be a threat to all the top guys.
Gotta get through Andy first…;) And of course they’ve both got to get to the quarters.
Last time Delboy was on an absolute tear, Andy stopped him.
And pax, Isner fans, not sure he’s that much of a test.
Agree with you on that one Deucey. Once Delpo got into his stride Isner looked decidedly 2nd league on Sunday.
Andy will stop Delpo if both get that far. The trouble with Andy is that sometimes he just does not seem motivated enough. But if he is motivated enough to get past the first match, he will stop Delpo. Delpo looking sharp against the rest of the field doesn’t prove anything. Ferrer also looks sharp against the rest of the field.
The only performances we can cite if we are to make him a favorite over Muzza are those against the top 4. True he has good performances against both Muzz and Nole this year but nothing so cataclysmic that we can at this stage make him equal of the top 4.
Somehow where Delpo is concerned everyone seems anxious to prematurely crown him. I think his mighty size and the way he wields his racket makes you feel awed and think of Thor wielding his hammer. And you can’t imagine how mere mortals could resist his might.
Delpo needs to conserve energy for USO. He hasn’t won a slam in 3 3/4 years. Can’t worry about 1000s.
@Holdserve, no one is prematurely crowning Delpo. He has provided enough reasons to all to put some hopes and faith in him. People would not have been discussing this, if not for that wrist 🙁
abhirf,
I agree with you. I am not about to crown Delpo at this point. However, he’s been knocking on the door recently. The fact that he is so injury prone is one thing that has kept him from realizing his potential since he came back from the wrist injury.
I was one who thought people got carried away after he won the 2009 USO. It was a great accomplishment at the time, given that Fed and Rafa were still dominating. But it’s not like the other top players were going to just lay down for him. People were touting him to win everything. But the wrist injury stopped it all.
I am happy to see Delpo on his game again. However, he still has fitness issues. He doesn’t want to risk overplaying before the USO. I am not crowning him the winner of Montreal when the tournament has barely begun.
Nny,
I agree with you. Given his track record for injuries, I’m just hoping that he scathes through the 2 masters in a healthy state so that he can arrive for the open in the best possible shape.
abhirf,
Yes! It’s really nice to see him in such good form right now.