Tsitsipas Weathers Isner Storm, Sets Medvedev SF

Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his third consecutive Western & Southern Open semi-final on Friday, outlasting John Isner 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3 to set a popcorn clash against World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.

In a rain-disrupted clash, the Greek weathered a storm on court as he blunted the American’s big-hitting game with heavy topspin, while he clinically took his one break chance in the third set to advance after two hours and 22 minutes in Cincinnati.

“I knew coming into the match that it is never easy playing against him,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “You have to deal with lots of different variations of play and I think the most important thing is to stay patient because there will be a lot of situations that you can’t really control. That is what I was trying to do today.

“It all came [down] to a few points at the end of that set and I was just able to hang in there and make one more ball back and not give him much to work with.”

With his 45th tour-level win of the season, the 24-year-old has improved his ATP Head2Head series record against Isner to 5-2. He will look to reach his first final at the hard-court event when he faces Medvedev on Saturday in what will be a difficult test, with the top seed leading the Greek 7-2 in their ATP Head2Head series.

“I am going to have to play my game,” Tsitsipas said looking ahead to his match against Medvedev. “I have been playing well so far. Of course an obstacle like Daniil is never easy. I am going to try and approach my game in the most precise and best manner and let my tennis do the talking.”

Tsitsipas has enjoyed strong results at ATP Masters 1000 events this season, retaining his title in Monte Carlo before he reached the semi-finals in Madrid and the championship match in Rome.

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In a hard-fought first set, both gave little away on serve, meaning a tie-break was left to decide the opener. With Tsitsipas leading 4/3, rain briefly forced the players off court. When they returned, the Greek zoned in to seal the set.

Isner refused to go away in the second set and was rewarded for his aggressive returning in the 11th game when he broke to lead, before he rallied from 0/30 to serve out the set.

In a close third set, it was Tsitsipas who found an extra gear. The fourth seed took his only break point of the match to move 5-3 ahead and then showcased mental toughness to hold from 0/30 and triumph.

Tsitsipas looked to step inside the baseline and attack for large periods of the match. As shown in his INSIGHTS: Conversion Score, the Greek (76 per cent) had a slightly higher success rate than Isner (72 per cent) when moving forward, which was the key to his victory.

Isner, who advanced to the final in Cincinnati in 2013, edged Benjamin Bonzi, Hubert Hurkacz and Sebastian Korda in three sets earlier this week to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season.

Did You Know?
Tsitsipas holds a 7-1 record against Americans this season, with his one defeat coming against Jenson Brooksby in Indian Wells.