ATP Dallas: Isner and Co. fix pure US semifinals - for the first time since Agassi
With John Isner (ATP No. 26), Reilly Opelka, Jenson Brooksby and Marcos Giron, four Americans are in the semifinals of an ATP tournament - that hasn't happened since the days of Andre Agassi.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Feb 12, 2022, 08:26 am
Isner won his home game (he actually lives near Dallas) 6-4, 6-4 against Vasek Pospisil. The wondrous thing here: Isner got two breaks, the first in three matches. "My best game of the year," the 36-year-old clarified afterwards . In the second round against Kevin Anderson, it had set three tie breaks.
Isner now meets Reilly Opelka, who made it into the semifinals 6:3, 6:4 against Adrian Mannarino. Opelka also showed a strong serve performance and was relieved about it. "If you have him in an even rallies he's not the most comfortable opponent," he explained of Mannarino.
In the semifinals between the two, it will probably be close again: Opelka leads in a direct comparison against Isner with 3:1, of 13 sets that both played against each other, 11 ended in a tie-break...
Taylor Fritz surprisingly eliminated
The second semi-final at the 250 tournament is contested by Jenson Brooksby and Marcos Giron. Brooksby won 6-3, 6-0 against Jordan Thompson. The impressive thing: Dallas is only the eighth ATP main draw in which the 21-year-old competes and is only in his fourth semi-final. (It would be even more impressive the other way around, but let's leave that.)
However, Brooksby is still waiting for his first ATP final.
Marcos Giron, currently 70th in the world rankings, caused the biggest surprise of the day with his 6: 4, 3: 6, 7: 6 (3) victory over top seed Taylor Fritz. He was already in the lead twice with a break in the third round...
American memories of 2004
A semi-final with four Americans may not have been unusual in the past, but now you have to look far back. Specifically, until 2004: At that time, four US boys last made an ATP title among themselves, in San Jose.
The older ones will remember - it was Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and Robert Kendrick. Roddick won the title after beating buddy Fish in the final.