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Familiar foes Anderson & Isner meet for first time since 2015

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

Player Event Result
Lleyton Hewitt 2003 Davis Cup SF 5-7, 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-1
David Nalbandian 2005 Nitto ATP Finals 6-7(4), 6-7(11), 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(3)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2011 Wimbledon 3-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Novak Djokovic 2011 US Open 6-7(7), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
Kevin Anderson 2018 Wimbledon 2-6, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11
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]. there's no shot. [I couldn't] imagine us playing each other in the semi-finals of the most prestigious tennis tournament we have.”

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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 39.4 per cent (160/406) of his first-serve points.

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

Player Attempts
David Ferrer 42
John Isner 41???
Stan Wawrinka 36
Kevin Anderson 34
Kim Warwick 32
Marin Cilic 29
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.”

Nadal can even the pair's FedEx ATP Head2Head series at 26-26
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have played an Open Era-record 51 times. And on Friday, they will add another chapter to their historic rivalry in the Wimbledon semi-finals. It is their 39th meeting in the semi-finals or final at the biggest tournaments in tennis: the Grand Slams, the Nitto ATP Finals, ATP World Tour Masters 1000s and the Olympics.

But the world is used to watching them battle when they're both at the top of the sport. This time, while Nadal tries to emphatically cement his status as the best player in the world, Djokovic is attempting to show everyone that despite a slow return from injury, he is truly back in top form.

“That's a big thing. We’ve always played in important stages, important places,” Nadal said. “Friday is another important match against an opponent that is one of the most difficult ones that you can face. He's playing well."

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The last time the pair met was on clay in the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome under vastly different circumstances. Djokovic struggled to find his form early in 2018 as he recovered from a right elbow injury, entering that event just 6-6 on the campaign. But the 31-year-old played what was his best tournament of the year before hanging tough against Nadal in a straight-sets loss.


That showed that the Serbian was moving closer to the level that helped him to the top of the ATP Rankings for 223 weeks. And since, Djokovic has advanced to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, held championship point at the Fever-Tree Championships against Marin Cilic, and is now into his first major semi-final since the 2016 US Open.

“I'm really not thinking about being an underdog or being a favourite,” Djokovic said. “I just try to build momentum. Obviously I've been very pleased with the way I've played so far on the grass-court season.”

Most Tour-Level Meetings In Open Era Rivalry

Players Tour-Level Meetings FedEx ATP Head2Head
Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal 52* Djokovic leads 26-25
Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer 45 Djokovic leads 23-22
Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal 38 Nadal leads 23-15
Jimmy Connors vs. Ivan Lendl
Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray
Ivan Lendl vs. John McEnroe

36
Connors leads 23-13
Djokovic leads 25-11
Lendl leads 21-15

*including Friday's match
At SW19, the three-time Wimbledon champion is into his eighth semi-final, which is tied for fourth in the Open Era with john McEnroe and Pete Sampras. This will also be the No. 12 seed’s 32nd Grand Slam semi-final, which puts him in second in the Open Era ahead of Jimmy Connors.
Read & Watch: Djokovic Back In Business, Reaches Eighth Wimbledon Semi-final

But this may be Djokovic’s ultimate challenge. Nadal, who has won four titles this year including an 11th Roland Garros trophy, is not just 35-2 on the season. He is also fresh off an impressive five-set triumph against an in-form Juan Martin del Potro in the quarter-finals. The Spaniard guaranteed that he will maintain his No.1 ATP Ranking by reaching the Round of 16, and is hungry for more.

“It’s always a big challenge facing Novak. He’s one of the more complex players that I’ve ever seen in our sport. It’s always a big test. You know that you can't win against him if you don't play very well,” Nadal said. “But my goal is to try to play very well. I know in the semi-finals of Wimbledon you will not have an easy opponent in front [of you]. You have to accept that if you want to win important things, of course you will face the best players. You need to be ready for it.”

Nadal has won their two most recent FedEx ATP Head2Head series meetings, but Djokovic has triumphed in 11 of their past 14 matches. And while they have played one another more than any rivals in the sport — this is their 52nd meeting — this will be just their third clash in 26 months.

Most Grand Slam Meetings In Open Era Rivalry

Players Grand Slam Meetings Win-Loss Record
Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer 15 Djokovic leads 9-6
Novak Djokovic vs. Rafael Nadal 14* Nadal leads 9-4
Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal 12 Nadal leads 9-3
Tomas Berdych vs. Roger Federer
Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray
Ivan Lendl vs. John McEnroe 10 Federer leads 8-2
Djokovic leads 8-2
Lendl leads 7-3*including Friday's match
Read & Watch: Nadal Edges Delpo In Wimbledon Epic
It will be interesting to see who wins the battle in crosscourt rallies in the Ad court between Nadal’s forehand and Djokovic’s two-handed backhand. In recent meetings, Djokovic has shown the ability to absorb the Spaniard’s forehand and use it to gain an advantage by going down the line.


If he remains comfortable with those patterns and is able to keep Nadal from dictating off that wing with one of the sport’s legendary strokes, he might be able to spring the upset. That is the reason the No. 2 seed knows he must be on top of his game.

“If you don't play very well, you will not have the chance to win,” Nadal said. “But I hope to be ready to play very well, and let's see what's going on. I know he's playing very well.”

Is Djokovic ready to take arguably the biggest step of his comeback to reach his 22nd Grand Slam final? It is tough for the Serbian to compare where his game is now to where it was when he was at his best, but he is confident heading into the semi-finals.

“I think it's pretty close. Again, it's kind of hard to copy anything, right? I don't like that. I usually like to recreate something. I know, as everything in life, we are evolving. I'm a different person, different player today,” Djokovic said. “[But] I like the level of tennis that I'm playing right now. I really do. I think with the performances I've had, I deserve to be in the semi-finals. I don't want to stop here. I hope I can get a chance to fight for a trophy.”