John Isner repeated his 2019 semi-final victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Sunday with a 7-6(5), 7-6(5) win on Grandstand.
The 18th seed fired 16 aces and improved his record in Miami to 26-11. Isner, who defeated the Canadian 7-6(3), 7-6(4) to reach the championship match two years ago, remains unbeaten in tie-breaks at Hard Rock Stadium. The American has won all 11 tie-breaks he has contested since the ATP Masters 1000 moved to its new home in 2019.
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Across the one-hour, 49-minute encounter, Isner won one point more than his rival (76-75). The match, which featured no break points, once again came down to who could find their best tennis under the pressure of a tie-break. That player was Isner.
The American fired four unreturned serves in the first tie-break and benefitted from an Auger-Aliassime overhead error at 1/0 to clinch the opener after 50 minutes. In the second tie-break, Isner continued to serve with confidence and showcased great touch at the net to reach match point. The 35-year-old defended well from behind the baseline and moved through to the Round of 16 when Auger-Aliassime struck a forehand beyond the baseline.
Isner will meet Roberto Bautista Agut in the Round of 16. The Spaniard recovered from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Court 1.
Bautista Agut converted five of his six break points to record his fourth win in five ATP Head2Head matches against Struff. The seventh seed, who defeated Novak Djokovic at this event two years ago, owns a 10-7 record this year with runner-up finishes at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.
Bautista Agut will be seeking revenge when he meets Isner for the fifth time in their ATP Head2Head rivalry (Isner leads 3-1). In the 2019 quarter-finals, Isner claimed a 7-6(1), 7-6(5) win against the Spaniard en route to the championship match.
Did You Know?
Isner is one of four ATP Masters 1000 champions still in contention for the Miami title. The American is joined in that group by Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov and Marin Cilic.
