In a match with a total of 56 aces, John Isner, tenth in the world rankings, has fulfilled a dream and is now in the semi-finals of Wimbledon. The 33-year-old from the USA defeated the Canadian Milos Raonic (No. 13) 6:7 (5:7), 7:6 (9:7), 6:4, 6:3 in a true service battle. The Miami winner will meet Kevin Anderson on Friday. The eighth seeded South African had surprisingly eliminated defending champion Roger Federer (Switzerland/No. 1) in five sets.
By Ulrike Weinrich from Wimbledon
After 2:42 hours Isner turned his first match point. No, not with an ace, but with a backhand passing shot along the line. In the service duel of a special kind there were only three breaks on Court 1, all of which went to the American.
The first chance to take the service away from my opponent was after 1:46 hours. Isner grabbed her by the hair – and consequently won the third set. The preliminary decision in the fourth round was made when the man from Tampa in the sunny state of Florida took a 4-2 lead.
Raonic, Wimbledon finalist in 2016, was struck, so it was only a formality for Isner to save his lead to the finish line. This could also bring Donald Trump’s visit to the All England Lawn Tennis Club closer. Isner had announced that he would invite the US President, who will begin his trip to Great Britain in London on Thursday, to the semi-final. “I know a lot of people wouldn’t like that. But I don’t care,” Isner stressed on Monday and said: “I would love it if he watched me.”
The 2.08-meter giant apparently wants to contact Trump via Twitter after his semi-final entry. The 23-time major queen Serena Williams had made a much more reserved statement these days about a possible trump detour to Church Road. “If he wants to come, he has the right to come.” It could hardly be more sober.
Isner (135) and his Canadian counterpart Raonic (117), twelve centimetres smaller than number ten in the ranking, had already led the Aces Best List before the ultimate comparison. Now Isner added 25 aces, Raonic even had 31, but he could not take his only break.
In the stands, his Croatian coach Goran Ivanisevic, 2001 Wimbledon champion, looked sad. Certainly also because he could not watch the semi-final of his countrymen’s World Cup against England completely.
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