The BB&T Atlanta Open continues to bring out the best in top-ranked American John Isner with the four-time champion cruising past Alex de Minaur in the second round on Wednesday. The top seed powered to a 6-3, 6-2 result over the #NextGenATP Australian to set a quarter-final showdown with No. 7 seed Mischa Zverev.

The 19-year-old De Minaur was coming off a tight opening round win over Polish lucky loser Hubert Hurkacz but had no answers to the 6’10” Isner’s huge serving. The American finished with 15 aces and dropped just two points on his first serve. He did not face a break point.

“Yeah it was a pretty comprehensive win. You never know how you’re going to come out. This was my first match on hard court since Miami so it’s been a little bit and hadn’t practised too much because the focus was on resting after that long match (at Wimbledon) so I’m very happy.”

It was the 33-year-old’s first match since that epic six-hour, 36-minute semi-final defeat to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the Wimbledon semi-finals, a match in which Isner ultimately fell short 26-24 in the fifth set. It was a match that boosted Isner’s profile back home since.

“I’m very mature now. I know what it takes to bounce back from something like that,” Isner said. “As soon as I got off the plane I worked out actually. I have to keep my body constantly moving. 
“Just sitting on a couch for days on end, I would have felt even worse… so I feel pretty good right now.”

The win sends Isner into his fifth quarter-final of the season, with his biggest result coming in April when he claimed his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open presented by Itau. He has claimed four titles from seven finals in Atlanta and only once has he failed to reach the final, in 2012, when he fell to Andy Roddick in the semi-finals. 

Zverev, though, will favour his chances of ending that streak. The German carries a 3-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head record into the quarter-final clash.

“I’ve never played him in Atlanta so that might help,” Isner said. “He’s certainly going to have a lot of belief against me on Friday. 

“He cleaned my clock at the US Open last year, he beat me in five sets in the Australian Open (in 2017) and he beat me somewhere else also. He’s a very good player and gives a lot of players trouble.”

German Mischa Zverev accomplished a lifelong goal last month at the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne when he won his maiden ATP World Tour title. But winning a title every year won’t make Zverev’s tennis career a success, at least according to what he shared in this installment of “On The Line”, a question-and-answer series about life off the court.

What’s your biggest passion outside of sport and why?
Flying. I love airplanes. I love aviation. I love flying… I’m a pilot. I have a license. That’s my passion… [I fly] not very often because my license is only good in the U.S. so I can only fly when I’m here in the States. Last time I flew was I think August last year so it’s been awhile… In Tampa, I flew from home airport to home airport, stayed in the vicinity, did a couple landings, just flew around to get a feel for it again.

Anyone else in the plane?
No, when I don’t fly very often, first couple times I have to go by myself just to make sure everything’s good, and then start taking passengers.

Watch: Zverev Describes What Makes The Atlanta Tournament Unique

What do you fly?
A single-engine, four-seater, so a Cessna 172, Piper Cherokee, something like that… I don’t have my own plane; I just rent… I always loved aviation. I like driving cars, I like driving boats and I love flying, so everything that has to do with manoeuvring and piloting, I love all that… Since I was little, I saw those big machines flying, I was fascinated.

What was the last book you read?
Russian book with a lot of short stories. I always have a few books, I try to read in Russian, German and English.

The last concert or show you attended?
Last year for my birthday (August), we went to a play, Macbeth, in New York, and it was where you are part of the play. It was this unique experience where you’re in a building, four stories, and you walk around and the actors are all around you. Sometimes they walk straight at you. You have to get out of the way.

Favourite sport to watch besides tennis and why?
Basketball. I enjoy basketball. I’ve always loved basketball. First time I came to the U.S. [when I was 5], the first live sports I ever watched was basketball, the Miami Heat, and since then I’ve just been passionate about basketball. I do like watching fishing on TV, it’s very relaxing. It’s a good start for a Saturday morning or Sunday morning. That’s something I really enjoy.

Person, outside of significant other and your parents, whom you admire the most?
I think athletes like [Michael] Jordan and Roger Federer are the people I admire the most, for what they did on court and off the court.

My tennis career will be a success if I ________________.
Stop missing easy volleys.

After my tennis career, I want to _____________.
Fly more airplanes.

Hyeon Chung made a triumphant return to the ATP World Tour on Wednesday to defeat #NextGenATP American Taylor Fritz at the BB&T Atlanta Open. The 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals champion saw off the 20-year-old American 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach the quarter-finals.

The South Korean had reached his maiden Grand Slam semi-final in January at the Australian Open and made the quarter-finals or better at seven events this season before a right ankle injury kept him sidelined since 8 May. This was his first match since an opening round defeat at the Mutua Madrid Open.

“I’m really happy to win after two months injured,” Chung said. “I’m really trying to focus on the match but it was a little bit hot, so I had to try to focus on all of the points. Physically I felt all good because I was training a lot in the past two months.”

Fritz, sixth place in the Race to Milan, was bidding to reach his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season. Trailing a set and a break, he managed to peg back level for 4-4 in the second set before the South Korean went on to clinch the pair’s first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting in a tie-break.

“He has a really good serve and big forehand, so I had many chances to finish in the second set but he was serving ace, ace, ace,” Chung said. “Tough second set. Anyway I’m really happy to win the match. After 10 weeks, I was really happy to be on the court.”

He will next meet another American, No. 8 seed Ryan Harrison, for a place in the semi-finals. Harrison fought back to claim a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 result over Slovak Lukas Lacko.

German Mischa Zverev ended Russian Mikhail Youzhny’s final Atlanta campaign on Wednesday. The No. 7 seed prevailed 6-4, 6-2 over the 36-year-old former World No. 8. Youzhny announced after his opening round defeat of Emil Reinberg he would retire after the St. Petersburg Open in September.

“I think the conditions were good for me,” Zverev said. “Youzhny doesn’t like it, I think, when the ball bounces too high and goes quick through the air. So I was able to get a lot of easy points off of him, especially with my serve and also when he was serving using his second serve. I think that was key.” 

The 30-year-old was coming off a run to his maiden ATP World Tour title last month on the grass at the Nature Valley International. He awaits the winner of top seed John Isner and Australian Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals.

“Eastbourne was beautiful. It was a great, great feeling, a great experience,” he said. “I’m happy I can finally say yeah I have a title, which is good.”

John Isner’s secret to playing his best tennis at the age of 33: Not caring as much about the result.

The No. 1 American, who’s the top seed at the BB&T Atlanta Open this week, has worked on playing more aggressively as he’s reached career-best marks past the age of 30. The 6’10” right-hander approaches the net more often and swings through his returns.

During his Wimbledon quarter-final, when Isner beat Canadaian Milos Raonic to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final, Isner raced forward 37 times, winning 81 per cent of those points (30/37), and converting half of his six break points.

But Isner said, in addition to a change to his game, just as importantly, he’s feeling more confident about his new approach.

“It’s not necessarily that I’m playing more aggressively, while I am… I think I’m able to do that because I’m more comfortable out there on the court, more relaxed. Not so much worried about the result. Of course it’s great to win, if I lose, so be it,” Isner told ATPWorldTour.com.

It hasn’t always been that way for the American, who’s at No. 9 in the ATP Rankings this week. In the past, he has clammed up in tie-breaks, feeling more worried about the final score than how he’s hitting.

“There have been a lot of times where I’ve been too wrapped up in the result,” he said. “I’m not doing that lately, and I think that’s one of the reasons I’ve been playing so well.”

Watch: Isner Hears The Dawgs Barking

Off-court joy has also helped. Isner married longtime girlfriend Madison McKinley last December, and she is pregnant with a baby girl due 22 September.

“There’s a lot of things going on in my life, a lot of very cool things going on in my life that I think are helping,” he said.

Few tournaments bring out Isner’s best tennis than the BB&T Atlanta Open, where the former University of Georgia Bulldog has won four titles from seven finals and owns a 27-4 record at the ATP World Tour 250-level event. His worst showing was a semi-final loss to Andy Roddick in 2012.

“A lot of factors, I think, go into me playing so well here. I think for one, the surface is very good for me. I’m most comfortable playing on hard courts. It’s of course what I grew up playing on. On top of that I prefer playing in the United States. Throughout my career, I’ve always played my best tennis at home,” Isner said.

Read More: 200 Fans Wait In Line For Isner’s Autograph

“This tournament, in particular, is really home, because I went to school so close to here. There are so many Georgia Bulldog fans here in Atlanta, and this tournament is supported so well. When I’m playing, I have a lot of crowd support, the Dawgs are barking for me, and it spurs me on to play some good tennis.”

As the season enters its final four months, Isner is targeting his best finish yet – his first year-end Top 10 ATP Ranking and his debut at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 11-18 November at The O2 in London.

“A huge goal of mine is to make that tournament in London, I also want to finish in the Top 10,” Isner said.

“At 33, I feel like I’m playing my best tennis ever, which is super encouraging for me going forward. It’s incumbent on me now to keep pushing on the gas pedal and keep pushing forward.”

Roberto Bautista Agut started his comeback from a groin injury on Wednesday by booking a place in the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad quarter-finals. The 30-year-old, in his first match since the Gerry Weber Open five weeks ago, overcame fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 42 minutes.

The World No. 17, who has won one of his eight ATP World Tour trophies on clay courts, will next challenge Japan’s Taro Daniel, who saved one match point at 5-6, Ad-Out in the deciding set against Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain in a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) victory over two hours and 46 minutes.

Earlier in the day, Italian Matteo Berrettini knocked out fourth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-3 in 62 minutes. The World No. 84, winner of his second ATP Challenger Tour title at the Trofeo Perrel – FAIP in February, will contest his first ATP World Tour quarter-final against eighth seed and 2016 titlist Feliciano Lopez or Oriol Roca Batalla.