German Mischa Zverev won all three of his matches against American John Isner in 2017. But Isner is in the best form of his life, and the 33-year-old’s confidence shone in the BB&T Atlanta Open quarter-finals on Friday.

Isner beat the seventh seed 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to extend his record in Atlanta to 29-4, evening the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry at 3-3.

As expected, it was a service battle on Stadium Court, with both players needing just a break each to split the first two sets. The match came down to a deciding set for the fourth straight meeting in their series. But this time, the result was different.

Isner, who lost just two first-serve points in the clash (38/40), won all but three of his service points in the third set and broke twice to advance after one hour, 37 minutes. The 13-time ATP World Tour titlist did a good job pressuring the serve-and-volleying German by putting sharp returns back in play. And an immediate break in the third set — Zverev couldn’t handle a half volley — allowed the former University of Georgia student-athlete to loosen up and play some of his best tennis in front of the home crowd.

The American is now two victories from lifting his fifth trophy at the ATP World Tour 250-level tournament, with his four previous triumphs on the Georgia hard courts coming in the past five years. Isner is trying to win multiple titles in a campaign for the sixth time in his career.

Read Isner Feature: ‘The Dawgs Are Barking For Me’

The 6’10” right-hander is at No. 9 in the ATP Rankings, after reaching a career-best World No. 8 last week thanks to his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals. He also claimed his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title earlier this season at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Isner will next face fourth seed Matthew Ebden, who cruised past Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-2 in 72 minutes. The Aussie is into his second tour-level semi-final of the season, adding to his trip to the last four at the Libema Open (l. to Chardy).

Ebden began 2017 at No. 695 in the ATP Rankings due to injury, but is at World No. 55 this week after reaching a career-best No. 43 last week. He is pursuing his first ATP World Tour title,  

The 30-year-old has not dropped a set this week, saving the only break point he faced to oust Baghdatis. The former World No. 8 had won their only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting six years ago in a final-set tie-break at Sydney.

Isner has won three of his four FedEx ATP Head2Head matches against Ebden, but the Aussie defended his home turf with a four-set victory at this year’s Australian Open. The pair also met last year in the final of the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open, Ebden’s lone tour-level championship-match appearance, with the American coming out on top in straight sets.

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Isner has advanced to at least the semi-finals in each of his nine appearances in Atlanta. The American’s record at the tournament in the last four is 7-1, with his only loss coming in 2012 against Andy Roddick.

Leonardo Mayer got the better of fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman on Friday to keep alive his bid for a third trophy at the German Tennis Championships 2018 presented by Kampmann.

Mayer knocked out second seed Schwartzman 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in two hours and 14 minutes for a place in the semi-finals. The deciding set featured six breaks of serve, but it was 2014 and 2017 champion Mayer who gained control for his 18th victory of the season.

Schwartzman, who lifted the biggest trophy of his career in February at the Rio Open presented by Claro (d. Verdasco), falls in the Hamburg quarter-finals for a second time (also 2014).

Mayer goes onto play Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik, who overcame qualifier Thiago Monteiro of Brazil 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 earlier in the day. Read More & Watch Three Hot Shots

Later today, top-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem takes on Nicolas Jarry of Chile and third-seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta faces Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili in the quarter-finals.

Marach/Pavic Reach Doubles Final, Qualify For Nitto ATP Finals
Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic advanced to the Hamburg doubles final on Friday to become the first team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 11-18 November. Read More

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The top seeds came back to beat Marcus Daniell and Wesley Koolhof 2-6, 6-4, 10-7 in just over 90 minutes for a place in their 12th team final (5-6 record).

Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos will take on Ben McLachlan and Jan-Lennard Struff in the other semi-final on Saturday. Peralta and Zeballos edged their quarter-final against fourth seeds Pablo Cuevas and Marc Lopez 6-7(10), 6-4, 10-8 in two hours.

Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic become the first players to clinch a spot at the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 11-18 November at The O2 in London. The No. 1 team qualified for the elite eight-player, eight-team field for the first time by reaching their eighth final of 2018 on Saturday at the German Tennis Championships 2018 presented by Kampmann.

The Austrian and Croatian served as Nitto ATP Finals alternates in their debut season last year, making their team debut at The O2 when they stepped in on the final day of round robin play to defeat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan. Marach previously qualified for the tournament in 2009-10 alongside Lukasz Kubot.

“For me, it’s the best tournament in the world,” said Marach. “People in London are great and I love to play there. I had some of my best matches in London, such as the 2017 Wimbledon final, although we lost it, and I was at The O2 in 2009 and 2010. So I’m very happy to qualify again.”

“It’s a big thing and we have qualified quite early,” said Pavic. “For sure it takes the pressure off. I remember last year when we were fighting for London around Nos. 8-9-10 at the end of the season, we always had our eyes on the [ATP] Doubles Race To London. It was a great experience to play there last year as alternates. It was a goal to be there this year and we’re looking forward to it.”

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Marach and Pavic, who respectively celebrated their 38th and 25th birthdays earlier this month, made an impressive start to their 2018 campaign. They went undefeated through January, with titles at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and the ASB Classic before claiming their maiden Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open. They extended their winning streak to 17 matches before a loss in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament final (l. to Herbert/Mahut).

The second-year duo won their fourth title of the season at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open, the same week that Pavic rose to become the youngest No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings since Todd Woodbridge in March 1976. Marach and Pavic also reached clay-court finals at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and Roland Garros.

Italian Matteo Berrettini advanced to his first ATP World Tour semi-final on Friday at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad with an upset win over eighth seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-4, 6-3 in 64 minutes. The World No. 84 won 30 of his 32 first-service points against the 2016 champion (d. Haase).

“It is an unbelievable feeling,” said Berrettini. “I played a great match and served really well, with breaks of serve early in each set. I was really focused as I knew just how experienced he is.”