Los Angeles: Top seed John Isner continued his impressive run defeating Aussie Matthew Ebden 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 in the semifinals to set up an all-American summit clash with Ryan Harrison in the Atlanta Open tennis tournament here, Sunday.
“It was tough,” Isner immediately said after the match. “Just like Saturday, I was able to get out early in the third set and that definitely took some pressure off. I’m very happy to be back in the final here.”
The 33-year-old Isner appeared to be cruising to victory, leading by a set and up by a break, when the wheels almost fell off. The fourth-seeded Ebden broke back in the second and then saved one match point in the ensuing tie-break when Isner flubbed a backhand return.
The American rebounded by breaking Ebden twice in the deciding set to win the match. Isner who has won eight of his nine semifinals in Atlanta will look to improve his record of 13-12 in finals.
In the other semifinal, Harrison came from a set down to beat Britain’s Cameron Norrie 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
