Gerasimov Upsets Isner In Three Tie-Breaks In Chengdu

Egor Gerasimov edged through an encounter featuring 59 aces and only two break points on Thursday over World No. 19 John Isner at the Chengdu Open.

Gerasimov struck 24 aces to Isner’s 35 aces to record a 6-7(11), 7-6(5), 7-6(4) second-round victory in two hours and 32 minutes. Gerasimov won 87 per cent of his first-service points (71/82), while top seed Isner won 84 per cent (76/90).

“I’m feeling great after beating another guy from the Top 20,” said Gerasimov. “I’ve been working hard and I feel comfortable here on the courts in Chengdu.”

Isner failed to convert set points at 6/4, 7/6, 9/8 and 11/10 in the first-set tie-break, while he saved set points at 7/8 and 9/10. Gerasimov, who beat Matteo Berrettini en route to last week’s St. Petersburg Open semi-finals, could not convert two set points on Isner’s serve when leading 6-5 in the second set. But Gerasimov clinched the set on his fifth set point in the second-set tie-break and later won the first three points of the third-set tie-break.

The 26-year-old will next play eighth-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who scraped past American qualifier Bradley Klahn 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in two hours and two minutes. Shapovalov hit 13 aces and won 81 per cent of his first-service points.

Earlier in the day, Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta overcame third-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in 78 minutes and now plays Chile’s Cristian Garin, who won by the same scoreline against Fernando Verdasco of Spain.