John Isner and James Blake look to serve up another treat for fans tonight at the Legg Mason Classic.
The Legg Mason Classic holds some particularly fond memories for Isner. Cast your mind back to 2007 when no one had heard of the 6'9 American outside of the collegiate circuit. Ok, his record in American college tennis was astounding but the pro circuit is a whole different ball game. However Isner stunned everyone by blasting his way to the final and he's never looked back since.
As a result Isner feels a loyalty to the tournament rarely seen on the circuit these days. This is one of the most important spells of the year for him and he's prepared to miss the Montreal Masters for this event (Isner does not like to compete for more than three weeks in a row).
This has all the potential to be a fascinating showdown in tonight's night session. This scheduling will help Isner who has a reputation for struggling in the intense daytime heat.The two players produced one of the best matches of the past month in Atlanta, Isner winning a pulsating second round clash 7-6, 6-7, 7-5. Blake is on the comeback trail and he will be gunning for revenge.
His confidence will be soaring after a thumping 6-2, 6-4 win over defending champion David Nalbandian in the last round. Blake came out with more firepower and more agility and outplayed the rusty Argentine.
Whoever wins will have a fairly clear path to the semi-finals so there's quite a bit at stake. Blake won this tournament back in 2002 so if he gets on a roll who knows what could happen.
