ISNER TAKES ON GULBIS

Andy Roddick’s countryman, John Isner, will take on Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the quarter final round of the ongoing BNP Paribas Open.

Being the local boy, Isner has a slight advantage. He would get the support of the crowd and the form has been on his side too. He has put up some powerful performances on his way to final 8 so far.

In his previous match against Fernando Verdasco, Isner had smashed a total of 10 aces which suggests a thing or two about his current form.

Talking to the reporters ahead of his encounter against Gulbis, the 28 years old American said, “He is a very unpredictable player. He is bubbling with potential, but, you can’t say what kind of performance he is going to produce. He might be sensational or he might be ordinary.  I hope it’s the latter one tomorrow, but, look as I said, he is just brilliant. He can make the match one sided if it’s his day.”

“I think the main feature of his game is his ability of shot making. He gives the ball quite a bit of whack.”

Till date, Isner and Gulbis have gone head to head against each other thrice on the tour and surprisingly, it’s the Latvian who is leading despite him being lower than his American opponent in the ATP rankings. He has won two out of those three encounters.

However, the last match played between these two players had gone Isner’s way. So, the American can take that as a confidence booster for himself. He is the favourite to win this match anyway as he is a better hard court player, but, again, when Gulbis is out there, it’s hard to predict what he will come up with.