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John Isner picked a great time to secure his first ever win over Andy Murray stunning the home favorite at Wimbledon today 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-4 in the second round on Wednesday.
Playing just his second match on Centre Court, Isner was never in trouble. The American who was 0-8 against Murray having only broken the Scot once ever, grabbed a quick break and powered through to an opening set win in their first meeting on grass.
Murray’s usually reliable return game had know answer to Isner in the second.
Murray finally pushed another breaker in the third and this time got the better of the giant. Murray jumped to his foot and pumped his fists much to the delight of the full crowd. But the joy didn’t last long. Shorty after, Murray got in trouble on serve and duffed a sitter high backhand into the net. Isner would eventually get the break and after the roof closed, served out one of his biggest career wins.
Isner fired 36 aces, most ever hit against Murray in a Slam match.
“Look, it’s no secret that I am most definitely not a better tennis player than Andy Murray,” said Isner on court. “I might have just been a little bit better than him today. It was an incredible honor to play him today on this court in front of this crowd.”
Isner, though was a semifinalist at Wimbledon and had done damage on the grass.
“At the age I’m at now I need to relish these moments,” he added. “This was one of the biggest wins of my career just given the atmosphere. It was fantastic.
“To play as well as I did against one of our greatest players, Andy Murray, was a huge accomplishment for me. He’s a massive inspiration to each one of us in the locker room and we’re so lucky to still have him around.”
The 35-year-old Murray put a lot of hard work in with Ivan Lendl and came up empty.
Novak Djokovic got into full gear in his second round crushing Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to win his 23rd straight match on grass.
“I’m very happy with my performance today,” said Djokovic to the crowd. “I thought I started off very well, very solid from the back of the court, made him work for every point that I managed to get his serve back in play. I tried to work him around the court, bring a lot of variety in the game.
“It was not easy to serve because of the wind, it was very swirly today on the court, so tough to toss the ball. But I think from my side overall, a really high-quality performance and I’m very pleased.”
Carlos Alcaraz kept pace. The 19-year-old could meet Djokovic in the quarterfinal, and today he won in straights over Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 7-6(0), 6-3.
“It was a pretty good match for my side,” Alcaraz said. “I played really well. I enjoyed playing the Court. Really happy got the win today.
“Felt more comfortable today than the first round,” Alcaraz said. “But obviously… I need more hours on court, on grass, to feel more comfortable.”
No. 3 seed Casper Ruud was the big casualty on the day falling to French lefty Ugo Humbert 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. Ruud, who had just won his first match ever at Wimbledon on Monday, is the highest seed to exit the men’s draw.
Cameron Norrie, David Goffin, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Jannik Sinner were also winners. With Ruud’s exit, the tournament will see a first-time Grand Slam semifinalist from the third quarter.
Tomorrow, Rafael Nadal is back to take on Recardis Berankis. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alex De Minaur, Nick Kyrgios and Taylor Fritz will also see action.
THURSDAY WIMBLEDON SCHEDULE
CENTRE COURT – 1:30PM
1. Katie Boulter v Karolina Pliskova
2. Ricardas Berankis v Rafael Nadal
3. Coco Gauff v Mihaela Buzarnescu
NO.1 COURT – 1:00PM
1. Jordan Thompson v Stefanos Tsitsipas
2. Iga Swiatek v Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove
3. Alex De Minaur v Jack Draper
NO.2 COURT – 11:00AM
1. Paula Badosa v Irina Bara
2. Filip Krajinovic v Nick Kyrgios
3. Harriet Dart v Jessica Pegula
Not Before: 5:00pm
4. Kirsten Flipkens v Simona Halep
NO.3 COURT – 11:00AM
1. Ana Bogdan v Petra Kvitova
2. Liam Broady v Diego Schwartzman
3. Daniel Elahi Galan v Roberto Bautista Agut
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