Isner beats Raonic in quarter-final slug-fest

11/07/2018

John Isner beat Milos Raonic in four sets on Wednesday evening to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon.

In a match that featured plenty of brawn but very little beauty, Isner recovered from losing the first set to win in four.

The American will face Kevin Anderson in the last four.

Raonic delivered what was expected of him, smashing 31 aces to Isner's 25 in a booming encounter, but a failure to convert a set point in the second set tiebreak proved crucial. Isner took control of the encounter from that point on to reach his first ever Grand Slam semi-final after 41 attempts.

The towering American had never previously made it past the third round at the All-England club, but will now face the tantalising prospect of playing Anderson rather than Roger Federer for a place in the final after the South African produced a shock in the opening match on Wednesday.

Speaking after his win, Isner said:

" This is amazing. It's by far the best Grand Slam I've ever played in my career, and I've been playing for 11 years. I'm super happy. To do it here at Wimbledon makes it even a little bit more special."

"With how I'm feeling physically and mentally, I'm in a very good spot. I think I can keep doing damage here."

And when asked about his upcoming semi-final, Isner said: "It's a huge match, for sure. Kevin has been there before. He made the U.S. Open final last year. I'm trying to get to where he's already been. He wants to get back there, wants another crack at a championship. It's going to be a fun match."