John Isner has repeatedly dismissed the idea that he will defend his Miami Open presented by Itau title. His reasoning: He’s won only one ATP Masters 1000 title during his 13-year career. The seventh seed, however, might just prove himself wrong this week.

Isner reached his third Miami semi-final (2015, 2018) on Wednesday evening, beating Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(1), 7-6(5) at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

Isner moved into his 12^th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, and he’ll face the winner between #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime and 11^th seed Borna Coric of Croatia for a place in his fifth final at the prestigious level.

Isner’s most recent Masters 1000 semi-final – and final – came here in South Florida a year ago, when he beat Argentine Juan Martin del Potro and Alexander Zverev of Germany to win his maiden Masters 1000 crown.

Isner did it by playing clutch in tie-breaks, and he’s following a similar script this fortnight. Isner has won his past 10 matches in Miami, and during that stretch, he’s 10-1 in tie-breaks, including 7-0 this year.

The World No. 9 missed his only chance to break in the first set when Bautista Agut dipped a forehand pass that Isner netted. The Spaniard, however, donated a double fault at 1/5 and Isner finished the tie-break with his 13^th ace.

The 33-year-old Isner was the clear aggressor, striking big from the back of the court and looking to come forward. Bautista Agut, meanwhile, was more content hanging out at the baseline and trying to move Isner from side to side.

The Spaniard did much of his damage from the back of the court on Tuesday during his upset win against No. 1 Djokovic, the second time he’s beaten the Serbian this season (Doha). And the Spaniard fought off Isner’s threats well, saving two break points at 4-4 in the second set.

Bautista Agut had a set point on Isner’s serve at 5-6, 30/40, his first break point of the match, but the American erased it with an ace. The Spaniard, however, maintained the momentum and led the tie-break 3/0, including two points won on Isner’s serve. But for the second match this tournament (Edmund), Isner overcame a double mini-break deficit to advance.

Did You Know?
Isner and Frances Tiafoe are the first American duo to reach the Miami quarter-finals in the same year since 2008 when Tournament Director James Blake (QF) and Andy Roddick (SF) accomplished the feat.

Quarter-final action kicks off on Wednesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau and the two singles matches on the roster provide markedly different forms of entertainment. Two established veterans square off in the day session and a pair of rising stars will battle at night, while a rain-delayed fourth-round clash between Roger Federer and Daniil Medvedev is also on the schedule.

Who will win the latest @FedEx #ATP Head2Head clash between these two?

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) March 27, 2019

Seventh seed and defending champion John Isner looks to end the inspired run of No. 22 seed Roberto Bautista Agut. Isner leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 2-1, but they haven’t played in more than three years. The American has successfully handled the pressure of defending his first ATP Masters 1000 title by moving through his first three rounds without dropping a set. Perhaps unsurprisingly, five of his six sets won this fortnight ended in a tie-break.

Bautista Agut continued his inspired start to 2019 by ousting top seed Novak Djokovic in the fourth round, marking his second win of the year over the World No. 1. The Spaniard opened this season by winning the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (d. Berdych) and reaching his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open (l. To Tsitsipas). He’s now one win away from his third Masters 1000 semi-final.

The other quarter-final will see #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime against No. 11 seed Borna Coric of Croatia. Auger-Aliassime came through qualifying in Miami and it’s unlikely he’ll need to do that again anytime soon. The 18-year-old has racked up quality wins to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final, including No. 17 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili on Tuesday for his third Top 20 victory.

It’s hard to believe that Auger-Aliassime was playing ATP Challenger Tour events just two months ago. His inspired run over the past six weeks includes his first tour-level final at the Rio Open presented by Claro (l. to Djere) and first Top 10 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas at the BNP Paribas Open. On Monday, he’ll become the first player born in the 2000s to crack the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings.

Coric has done it the hard way this fortnight by winning all of his matches in three sets. In fact, he’s dropped a set in his past seven victories this year. The World No. 13 has been reaping the rewards of his hard work in the off-season and is the on-paper favourite against the Canadian, but fitness could play a factor if he’s forced to go three sets once again.

Fourth-round play concludes in the first men’s singles match on Stadium. Federer meets Medvedev, who is tied first with Tsitsipas for most match wins (17) on the ATP Tour in 2019. The Russian is 1-10 lifetime against Top 10 opponents with his lone win coming over Federer’s countryman Stan Wawrinka, in June 2017 at Wimbledon.

ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, 27 MARCH 2019

STADIUM start 1:00 pm
WTA SINGLES

Not Before 3:00 pm
ATP – [13] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs [4] Roger Federer (SUI)
ATP – [22] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) vs [7] John Isner (USA)

Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA SINGLES

Not Before 9:00 pm
[Q] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) vs [11] Borna Coric (CRO)

GRANDSTAND start 1:00 pm

[1] Lukasz. Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) vs [5] Oliver Marach (AUT) / Mate Pavic (CRO)
Ivan Dodig (CRO) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG)

Not Before 4:00 pm
[3] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA) vs Rohan Bopanna (IND) / Denis Shapovalov (CAN)
After Suitable Rest – John Isner (USA) / Sam Querrey (USA) vs Wesley Koolhof (NED) / Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)

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