A Davis Cup victory over Roger Federer on clay in Switzerland; a career-high ATP ranking of 11; a familiar hardcourt at the Delray Beach Tennis Center and a lower ranked opponent — none of that added up to anything that mattered for John Isner in the semifinal here on a warm, blustery evening.
Isner went down 7-5, 7-6 to the 36th-ranked South African Kevin Anderson, an old foe from college days, in a match that ultimately hung on a double fault on the opening point of the tie-break. Isner was never able to recover from that blooper, not even by serving three more aces to bring his total for the match to 16.
The problem was simple. Everything he did, Anderson did just as well and, at important moments, just a tiny bit better. The gangling South African, who stands just one inch shorter than Isner at 6-foot-8, also served 16 aces — including three in the tiebreaker. And when he forced a backhand error out of the American on match point, that was it by seven points to four.
“There wasn’t much in it,” admitted Anderson who played in an NCAA final against Isner — and lost — when he was at the University of Illinois. “I thought I played the big points well and served very well in the breaker.”
No argument there but frustrating, nonetheless, for Isner, who is still trying to transfer that winning Davis Cup form to the ATP tour.
Anderson will play unheralded Australian Marinko Matosevic in Sunday’s final. In a thrilling encounter that ended with Matosevic falling flat on his back and screaming in relief, the 26-year-old qualifier defeated Israel’s Dudi Sela 5-7, 6-4, 7-6, taking the breaker 9-7 after missing four match points.
“It was all heart — I didn’t know what I was doing out there by the end,” said the engaging Australian whose Croatian parents emigrated to Melbourne when he was 9. “I’d played Dudi three times before and never beaten him, but they had all been crazy matches with all sorts of chances that I didn’t take. This was special, unbelievable. To be in a final — it’s just great.”
Matosevic was so overcome with emotion, rushing to coach Josh Eagle who had just flown in from Australia two days before, that he forgot to shake Sela’s hand. “I looked round and he’d walked off,” said Matosevic. “But it’s OK, we’re good friends and he didn’t take offense.”
Matosevic is one of those late developers who is finally starting to be sufficiently disciplined in his shot-making to reap the rewards that heavy ball striking off the ground and a big serve deserve.
Having won a Challenger event in Australia last month, Matosevic is now on a 12-match winning streak and will see his ranking rise from 173 to at least 127 as a result of his exploits here.
