Isner Withdraws From Winston-Salem Quarters With Sprained Ankle
August 22, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Top-ranked American and the number one seed in the Winston-Salem open John Isner was forced to withdraw from his quarterfinal match with Lukas Rosol just hours before the match because of a sprained ankle.
“I can’t risk further injury with the U.S. Open right around the corner,” said Isner, who injured the ankle in his third-round match with Mikhail Kukushkin on Wednesday. “It was pretty uncomfortable doing even minimal stretching on it. I didn’t see the benefit of taking the court.”
Rosol now coasts into the semifinals of this tournament and will take on ninth-seeded Yen-Hsun Lu. The Taiwanese native knocked off Italy’s Andreas Seppi.
The 15th ranked player in the world had never lost at the Winston-Salem Open and has two championships at this tournament under his belt. He received a 13 seed in the US Open and will play 2014 NCAA singles champion Marcos Giron in the tournament’s opening round.
“It’s going to impact my preparations. I probably won’t get on the court and hit some balls until Saturday,” said Isner. “But I’m going to do everything I can to get as fit as possible. I certainly expect to take the court in my first-round match, and at this point I expect to play well up there as well.”
The other semifinal on Friday will feature Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz and American Sam Querrey.
