Ninth-seeded American John Isner, competing in his first Grand Slam championship semi-final, leads eighth seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 7-6(9) after three hours of play at The Championships on Friday. In a dramatic third set tie-break, Isner saved two set points at 7/8 and 8/9.

Isner, a University of Georgia graduate, leads his former college rival Anderson 8-3 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, including victories in their past four meetings. Eleven years ago, Isner beat Anderson, who was at the University of Illinois, at the No. 1 singles spot in the NCAA Finals. Anderson has not beaten Isner at a tour-level event since February 2012 at the Delray Beach Open.

The winner will play World No. 1 and two-time former champion Rafael Nadal of Spain or Serbian No. 12 seed and three-time former winner Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final at the All England Club, Wimbledon.

Isner was at his aggressive best in the early stages and came close to capitalising on Anderson’s tendency to hit his serve to Isner’s forehand. Anderson also got himself into trouble by dropping his backhands, which provided his opponent a way back into the point. Isner’s best opportunity to break came on his third of three break points at 1-1, when he narrowly missed a backhand crosscourt volley. Anderson, who had been broken on nine occasions in five previous matches, breathed a huge sigh of relief to come through the 13-minute game.

At 4-5, Isner, who had not been broken in 99 service games during the grass-court major this year, struck a double fault at 30/30 to gift Anderson a set point, which he saved with an unreturned second serve. In an inevitable tie-break, Isner ripped a forehand winner to open up a 3/1 lead and went on to gain a 4/2 advantage before he lost three straight points. Anderson saved one set point with a smash at 6/6, then set up his first set-point chance with a crosscourt backhand that Isner could not return. Isner struck a 120 miles-per-hour second serve at 6/7, but hit a forehand into the net (the American’s 14th unforced error of the 63-minute set) to end a short rally.

Isner regrouped and continued to hit his spots on serve, while both players hoped to get a strong racquet on a return. At 4-4, on Isner’s serve, the opportunity came for Anderson when he struck a forehand winner down the line at 30/30. Isner saved the break point when he struck a forehand volley off a big first serve. A few games later, the 6’10” American made sure in the second set tie-break, winning the first five points with aggressive intent from inside the service box. Anderson saved Isner’s first two set points with an ace and an unreturned serve, sowing a seed of doubt in Isner’s mind. But on Isner’s third set point opportunity at 6/5, he fired his 19th ace of the 54-minute second set and roared in delight.

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It’s that time of year again. As the grass-court season nears a dramatic crescendo on the ATP World Tour, the action is also heating up on the Challenger circuit.

In July and August, award-winning tournaments on both clay and hard courts mark the calendar, highlighted by two of the three Tournament of the Year recipients in 2017: Braunschweig, Germany and Vancouver, Canada. This week, the ‘Tennistainment’ tradition at the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig has taken centre stage once again.

Music and entertainment is at the core of the tournament’s identity, with fans taking in the action on the court while indulging in the nearby festivities. Last year, it became the first Challenger to celebrate multiple 17-year-old champions, as Nicola Kuhn followed in the footsteps of hometown hero Alexander Zverev (2014) to lift his maiden trophy.

The clay-court event is flanked by the scenic seaside tournament in Bastad, Sweden, a prelude to next week’s SkiStar Swedish Open at the same venue, as well as a pair of North American tournaments (Winnetka, USA & Winnipeg, CAN) that kick off the summer hard-court swing. Located just north of Chicago, the Nielsen Pro Tennis Championships in Winnetka is one of the longest-running Challengers in the U.S. It is celebrating its 27th anniversary this week.

Meanwhile, the tournament in Winnipeg kicks off a three-week Canadian swing leading up to the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Toronto. The stars are out at the tournaments in Gatineau and Granby, with Denis Shapovalov taking the title in Gatineau last year and Frances Tiafoe notching his maiden Challenger crown the year prior in Granby. 

In 2017, Cameron Norrie kicked off his Top 100 ascent with a stunning triumph on the hard courts of Binghamton, storming back from a 1-4 0/30 deciding-set deficit to earn his first title. He joined countrymen Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund as British champions at the 24-year-old event. Tournaments in Lexington and Aptos also feature in the U.S., while the award-winning Odlum Brown VanOpen returns to Vancouver, Canada.

Other hard-court events include the picturesque Zavarovalnica Sava Slovenia Open in the stunning port town of Portoroz, the $150,000 tournament in Jinan, China and $125,000 event in Chengdu, China. In addition, the Open Castilla y Leon in Segovia, Spain, will welcome players and fans for the 33rd time. Spanish #NextGenATP star Jaume Munar reigned on home soil last year.

One of the more unique events on the ATP Challenger Tour is in Scheveningen, Netherlands, next week. Located in the low-lying region of The Hague, the aptly named The Hague Open features a centre court below sea level. Held on clay for 25 years, legend has it that the court has never been watered. The venue is embedded in the community, with adjacent houses seemingly rooted in the foundation of the club.

In addition to Braunschweig and Scheveningen, the dirt is alive at the Tampere Open, where the longest-running Challenger (37 years) is held in the Finnish coastal city. A pair of inaugural clay-court tournaments feature in Sopot, Poland, and Pullach, Germany, while six events are on the dirt of Italy.

One of the more highly-anticipated new tournaments is held during the second week of the US Open, as Rafael Nadal’s academy hosts a €43,000 hard-court event. The World No. 1’s glittering facility will celebrate the inaugural Rafa Nadal Open Banc Sabadell, as the month of August comes to a close.

With players jockeying for position in the ATP Race To Milan, July and August are shaping to be a pivotal stretch. Challenger stars Jaume Munar (No. 7 in the Race), Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, Reilly Opelka and Marc Polmans are targeting further success on the circuit to bolster their Milan chances. View Standings

John Isner, the reigning Miami Open presented by Itau champion, has made the best Grand Slam run of his career by reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals, where he will face eighth seed Kevin Anderson. And while winning all 95 of his service games has certainly helped at the All England Club, one sweet treat might be the secret to his success, and it’s not an amino acid, a power bar, or anything you might guess.

“I just had a Kit Kat before I came in here. That’s the truth,” Isner told reporters with a smile after his quarter-final victory against Milos Raonic on Wednesday. “I had a little bit of a sugar craving. That’s not a normal occurrence for me. I think after each win throughout these 10 days, I’ve had a Kit Kat. I’m not going to change that now.”

The American hopes that on Friday he’ll be able to continue that streak. And while he has been indulging himself this fortnight, the 33-year-old says he has generally been careful with his diet.

“Especially when I started learning more and more about how important nutrition and diet is, I’ve always eaten very well,” Isner said. “I still eat a lot. I have such a big frame. But for the most part I know what to eat. I don’t eat much pasta. I never eat pizza. I don’t eat much unhealthy stuff. For me, in large part, I’m putting really good fuel in my body.”

The one irony of this story is that Kit Kat’s slogan is, “Have a break, have a Kit Kat’. Isner will be doing his best to ensure that, for the sixth consecutive match this fortnight, there won’t be any breaks – of his serve – against Anderson.

There may not be many people who predicted a Kevin Anderson-John Isner semi-final ahead of this Wimbledon fortnight. But now two of the tallest players in the sport, standing at 6’8” and 6’10”, respectively, have an opportunity to reach arguably the biggest final of their careers at the All England Club.

Perhaps Anderson’s appearance in the semi-final is more surprising, considering the South African was down match point against eight-time champion Roger Federer in the quarter-finals before becoming the fifth player to defeat the Swiss from two sets down. But Isner is not thinking about Federer being out. Instead, he’s focusing on the opponent in front of him.

“Whether it was Kevin or Roger, that didn’t enter my mind at all, which I think is very good,” Isner said. “It’s not like I have a huge opportunity now. Look how well Kevin is playing. It’s going to be extra tough.”

Players To Beat Roger Federer From Two Sets Down

In fact, both players are in the best form of their lives. Anderson has a chance to reach his second Grand Slam final, and he can break into the Top 5 of the ATP Rankings with a victory against Isner. The American is guaranteed to climb to at least No. 8, which will be a career-best.

And while Isner leads the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series 8-3, they knew one another long before they began playing on the ATP World Tour. The American competed for the University of Georgia, while the South African played at the University of Illinois. Just more than 11 years ago, they battled at the No. 1 singles spot in the NCAA Finals between the two schools, with Isner triumphing in straight sets.

“There could be a little mental aspect in our match,” Isner said. “We’ve been lined up against each other for about 14 years now, because he left Illinois when I left Georgia. We’ve been doing it ever since.

“For me this match-up, and I think for him as well, is especially cool. It’s a very nice spotlight on college tennis, that one of us, no matter what, is going to be playing in the Wimbledon final… I never could have imagined this. I don’t know if you asked him that question [what he would say]. [I would have said] there’s no shot. [I couldn’t] imagine us playing each other in the semi-finals of the most prestigious tennis tournament we have.”

The key will be perhaps how well Anderson, who seeks his 300th tour-level win Friday and has been broken nine times across five matches, holds onto his serve. Isner has not been broken in 95 service games this tournament. So if the American is able to get a beat on his opponent’s serve, that might spell trouble for the 2017 US Open runner-up.

“John I think has got arguably one of the best serves of all-time on the Tour. Especially in the past few months, what’s really impressive is just his first-serve percentage as well, never mind how accurate and big the serve is. But he’s very consistent with the two. Definitely, the first challenge is the serve.”

Isner has landed 75.9 per cent of first serves throughout the fortnight, allowing him to play on his terms from the start of rallies, if the ball comes back at all. Unbelievably, the 33-year-old has hit an ace on 39.7 per cent (161/406) of his first-serve points.

Most Attempts Before Reaching Maiden Grand Slam Final (Open Era)

Anderson knows that Isner, who lifted his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open presented by Itau, is high on confidence, allowing him to swing freely at his groundstrokes, especially given his strong serving. So he will be focused on not giving the No. 9 seed any cheap breaks. The American, who is into his first Grand Slam semi-final, has broken serve 15 times in five matches, whereas he arrived on the hallowed grass having broken just 30 times in 25 matches this season.

“In the matches I’ve played him, obviously taking care of your serve is the first priority. It’s a match that’s often won on just a couple points here and there. I feel confident in baseline exchanges I’d say quite a lot [of the time] with John,” said Anderson, who is trying to become the first South African since Brian Norton in 1921 to reach the Wimbledon final. “At the same time, because he’s such a big player, has so much firepower, you just can’t be too patient. You have to still be aggressive, put him on the back foot.”

This year’s New York Open champion uses more topspin from the baseline, allowing him to work points more patiently and play better defensive tennis if need be. This is their first meeting since the 2015 BNP Paribas Open, so it will be interesting to see how they adjust to one another, with both competitors in good form.

“It’s always close, always very close,” said Isner, who can become the 12th American man in the Open Era to make the Wimbledon final.. “When you match up with two big servers, inevitably the matches are going to be close. I’m going to expect a very tough match on Friday. I think he will expect that as well.”