Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Aug 26 : John Isner rallied past eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the Winston-Salem Open on Thursday.
The 28th-ranked Isner, from nearby Greensboro, needed all the crowd support he could get on a hot afternoon in a match that took nearly two hours.
Isner will play the winner of the Andy Roddick-Juan Monaco match.
Isner had difficulty returning serve early in the match before revving up his powerful serve. He served for the match after breaking Baghdatis to go up 5-4 in the third set. Isner ended the match with his 12th ace, uncorking a 139-mph (224-kph) serve.
The event is a final tuneup before the U.S. Open, which begins on Monday. Isner will play Baghdatis again in the first round in New York. AP
