Bang. Bang. Ace. The pressure cooker moment of saving break points is when John Isner blows the ball right by you like no other.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Isner serving at break point from 2015 through the 2018 season uncovers that one out of every three break points he saves (33.6%) when serving is an ace, putting him in a league of his own in this specific moment in a match.

For context, the rest of the current Top 20 average an ace 8.6 per cent (1166/13511) of the time they save a break point. Impressively, Isner is almost at four times that average, at 33.6 per cent.

The leading five players out of the current Top 20 who average the most amount of aces saving break points:
John Isner = 33.6% (187/557)
Kevin Anderson = 21.2% (154/725)
Marin Cilic = 18.8% (148/789)
Milos Raonic = 16.1% (87/541)
Roger Federer = 14.5% (74/509)

When you look at the bigger picture of all break points Isner faces, not only the break points he saves, the 6’10” American serves an ace 23.9 per cent (187/783) of the time. The rest of the Top 20 average an ace just 5.9 per cent (1275/21662) of the time they face a break point.

The only other player who comes close to Isner is the all-time ATP Tour aces leader, Ivo Karlovic, who is currently No. 81 in the ATP Rankings. Isner has hit an ace on 33.6 per cent of break points saved since 2015, while Karlovic has hit an ace 31 per cent of the time.

The new Infosys ATP Serve & Return Tracker identifies which direction Isner has hit his aces on break point since the 2011 season. This data is sourced from 2011-2018 ATP Masters 1000s and Nitto ATP Finals.

2011 – 2019: Isner Serve Direction / Aces On Break Point

Isner clearly favours going wide to hit his aces on break point in both the Deuce court and Ad court. The most striking ratio was at Ad Out, when he struck an ace 16 times out wide and just four times down the T. It must be nice to roll the dice on break point and find an ace one out of three times this critical point is saved.

Current Top 20: Percentage of Aces Saving Break Point

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury saved a set point in the first set on Friday en route to a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Dutch wild cards Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop in 73 minutes at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. Ram and Salisbury, runners up at the Brisbane International (l. to Daniell/Koolhof) in January, saved one set point on a deciding point at 5-6, before putting together a strong performance in the tie-break.

They will next play Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, the 2015 titlists, who won 86 per cent of their first-service points to defeat Wesley Koolhof and Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-2 in 62 minutes. Rojer and Tecau have an 18-5 team record in tour-level finals.

Gael Monfils extended his run of form by reaching an ATP Tour semi-final for the second consecutive week on Friday with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 70 minutes at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

“It was a good one,” said former World No. 6 Monfils. “I stuck to my game plan and I am satisfied how I executed. I prepared well in the off-season and I am starting to believe that I can get back to the top of the game.”

The Frenchman will next challenge fifth-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev, the player he lost to in last week’s Sofia Open semi-finals, or Sunday’s Open Sud de France champion and 2017 Rotterdam titlist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.

Dictating with his forehand, 2016 Rotterdam finalist Monfils upped the ante on Dzumhur’s serve in the fourth game of the first set, and the Frenchman earned a second break for a 5-1 lead when Dzumhur mis-timed a drop shot. Monfils wrapped up the 38-minute opener when Dzumhur struck a backhand volley wide.

A lapse in concentration, on a forehand volley, cost Dzumhur the first game of the second set, as Monfils ripped a forehand winner past him. Dzumhur’s level improved and a wild fourth game saw Monfils lose his advantage, but the World No. 33 immediately regrouped at 2-2 and went on to complete his seventh win in nine matches in 2019. Monfils also beat Dzumhur 6-0, 6-4, 6-0 in the Australian Open first round last month.

American Reilly Opelka keeps checking off the milestones to start 2019. Last month, he earned his first Grand Slam win, upsetting No. 10 John Isner in four sets at the Australian Open. On Thursday, Opelka advanced to his third ATP Tour quarter-final at the New York Open.

The 6’11” Opelka was leading Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 6-7(8), 7-6(6), 1-0 when the 32-year-old retired (leg). Opelka hit 32 aces and won 95 per cent of his first-serve points (56/59) in the abbreviated match.

The 21-year-old will try to reach his second tour-level semi-final (Atlanta 2016) when he faces Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who beat Aussie John Millman 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-4 to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final of the year.

The two other Americans in singles action had a mixed day at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island. Sixth seed Sam Querrey had no trouble with Moldova’s Radu Albot, winning 6-3, 6-4. The 2018 finalist landed almost 75 per cent of his first serves and never faced a break point.

Querrey will face Jason Jung of Chinese Taipei. The 29-year-old upset second seed Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. 6-3, 7-5. Jung, No. 143 in the ATP Rankings, rode an early break to a one-set lead. He stumbled while serving for the match at 5-4 in the second, but he broke back immediately.

“It’s been a long time coming. I’ve worked hard for a lot of years. It hasn’t been easy. I’m just so happy for this moment and have to try to enjoy this for a couple hours and then prepare for tomorrow,” Jung said.

Tiafoe, who received a late wild card, was fresh off his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open (l. to Nadal). “I thought he played great tonight. He came after me, and I just didn’t have answers for him,” Tiafoe said.

In doubles, Americans Tennys Sandgren/Jackson Withrow upset Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan, the top seeds, 7-6(9), 6-4. The Bryans were playing in their second event of the year after making the quarter-finals in Melbourne.

Did You Know?
In the semi-finals of the Boys’ 16s singles championships at the 2004 Easter Bowl, Querrey defeated Jung 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. “I remember it was three sets, and I had a really bad back. I guess I wasn’t doing my core exercises when I was 15, but it’ll be exciting tomorrow,” Jung said.