ATP Newport – Men’s Saturday Preview

John Isner vs. Tobias Kamke Tobias

Isner continued his strong run at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, reaching the semifinals after two sets win over Bogomolov. Isner once more relied on his powerful serve, he had 21 ace, four of them in the tiebreak, becoming the first top-seeded player to reach the semis since 2006. The No.1 seeded player has never won the title in the tournament's 35 years.

"I served really well. I need to play more aggressive. I am definitely happy with the way I served",said Isner.

He will meet for the first time Kamke who won in hard three sets over Roger-Vasselin. After a solid first set made by the Frenchman, the German then controlled the next two sets mainly because Frenchman’s serve hasn’t the same sting and lost a lot at the net. "I felt like after the second set I had control of the match. I tried to get a higher percentage on the first serve and then I just tried to play aggressive", said the German.

The German benefited by a kind draw to reach his first semi-final but he suffered on court in some moments while Isner’s serve was his best weapon. The American has the serve on his side, he advance a lot to the net and with his powerful shots will push the German way behind, Kamke can make things interesting on court.

Olivier Rochus vs. Michael Yani

Olivier Rochus is on his third consecutive semi-final at Newport, he lost once back in 2009 at the eventual champion, Ram Rajeev. He beat Matthew Ebden to reach the semi-final and the Belgian made a solid match, he looks fit and he shows his experience on grass using a lot of slices and returned well.

He will meet for the first time Michael Yani who reached his first semi-final in an ATP event, he is a qualifier and upped his game benefiting by a kind draw. Wasn’t an easy match, Kudla missed a lot of opportunities, but overall Yani was steadier from the back of the court.

Rochus has good retrieving skills and Yani hasn’t a powerful serve, also on the ground Rochus has the experience and the variety on grass, a lot of slices and lobs to put Yani away from his comfort zone, the Belgian looks set for another final at Newport.