Isner and Djokovic Advance to Indian Wells Semifinals
March 16, 2012 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
American John Isner took down Gilles Simon of France in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, to advance to play Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2012 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
“This is my first match on this court this year and I had to adjust,” said Isner, who played his other matches on outer courts. “I didn’t get too frustrated. I made a lot of mistakes, but he does that to a lot of players.”
Top-seeded Djokovic defeated Nicolas Almagro of Spain in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the semifinals as well. Djokovic, the defending champ at Indian Wells, raised his overall record against Spanish opponents to 16-1 since the beginning of 2011.
Almagro held a game with a backhand winner down the line to improve to 4-3 against Djokovic in the second. However, this would be the last game he would win, to later be broken and then lose the second to give the match away.
