Top-seeded John Isner rode his big serve into the quarter-finals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, beating Arnaud Clement 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the second round.
The 2m Isner closed out the match on Wednesday with his 11th ace and won 80 percent of his first-serve points.
Isner entered the tournament when defending champion Mardy Fish withdrew because he was selected for the US Davis Cup team. The 26-year old Isner will face Alex Bogomolov in an all-American semi-final.
Isner took control when he broke Clement in the seventh game of the second set, grabbing a 4-3 lead when Clement double-faulted on the final point.
Knowing he has an overpowering serve, Isner felt he was in a great position in the match. It was like the first set, but this time he made sure he didn’t waste it.
Isner broke to go up 4-3 in the first set, but Clement rallied to win the next two games. They played under slightly cool and breezy conditions, with light fog rolling in at times to block sunshine that was peaking out — a stark contrast to the sunny, hot, humid conditions Isner faced in his first match a day earlier.
Budapest Grand Prix
AP, BUDAPEST
Third-seeded Klara Zakopalova defeated Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia 7-5, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals of the Budapest Grand Prix on Wednesday.
The Czech will next play Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine, who defeated compatriot Olga Savchuk 6-3, 6-2.
No. 5 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain also advanced, beating Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine 6-2, 7-5. The match was moved to another court at 3-all in the second set because Medina Garrigues was unhappy with the clay playing surface.
In other second-round results, seventh-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania beat Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia 6-4, 6-4, and Slovakia’s Zuzana Kucova downed Ukraine’s Alona Bondarenko 6-3, 6-1.
Swedish Open
AP, BASTAD, Sweden
Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki retired from her second-round match at the Swedish Open against local favorite Sofia Arvidsson on Wednesday because of a shoulder injury.
The Dane won the first set 6-2 and lost the opening game of the second when she was forced to quit.
Second-ranked Flavia Pennetta also advanced after defeating Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-2, 6-3. The Italian will face seventh-ranked Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic.
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