WASHINGTON – Taking control by breaking serve immediately after a rain delay, eighth-seeded John Isner hit 29 aces and came back to beat Dmitry Tursunov 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the Citi Open final.
Isner stretched his winning streak to eight matches, including a title last week at Atlanta in another hard-court tournament that's a tuneup for the U.S. Open.
After dropping Saturday's first set, Isner was ahead on serve 2-1 in the second when, with the match 70 minutes old and a drizzle falling, play was suspended. When they resumed at 30-40, Isner converted the break point with a forehand passing winner on a 12-stroke exchange.
That was all he needed to even the match at a set apiece, and he broke again to lead 3-2 in the third.
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