John Isner of the United States, the number 16 seed, will face compatriot Steve Johnson, the world number 63, in the first round of the US Open. The match will be played at around 5 pm local time (10 pm BST) on Monday, August 31. Get the live streaming options of this John Isner v Steve Johnson match along with its preview, head to head and tips here.
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John Isner v Steve Johnson Head to Head
The pair have played each other nine times before, with Johnson leading their head-to-head series by five matches to four.
He won their first match in Washington in 2014, and their last in Houston in 2018, but their two meetings in Masters’ events were both won by Isner. This will be the first time they have played each other in a Grand Slam tournament.
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Can Isner Improve his Record in New York?
Although his powerful serve suggests he should do well in New York, Isner has never been beyond the last eight here, with his two quarter-final appearances coming seven years apart – he was beaten by Andy Murray in 2011, and Juan Martin del Potro in 2018.
he has, however, won 15 ATP career titles, the most recent of which came last year in Rhode Island at the Hall of Fame earlier, and the most prestigious of which, the Miami Masters, was secured in 2018.
Prior to lockdown, Isner’s best performance in 2020 came in Acapulco, where he got to the semi-finals before losing to another American, Taylor Fritz.
Before that he had reached the third round in both Auckland and Melbourne, but lost at the first time of asking, in New York.
On his return to competitive ATP action, he beat Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the first round of the Cincinnati Open, and then edged out John Millman of Australia in a three-set battle.
However, he then lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, although both of them went to tie-breaks.
Johnson, a Former American Number One
30-year old Johnson is now the sixth-ranked American player, although, for a brief period four years ago, he was the leading man in the country. He has won 4 ATP titles in his career, the most recent of which was the Hall of Fame Challenge in 2018, and he reached his last final at the Winston-Salem Open a month later.
He does not have a good record in Grand Slams either – a solitary fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon is the best he has managed, and he has never been further than the third round of the singles in New York, although he did reach the semi-finals of the doubles last year.
Johnson won two titles, prior to lockdown, on the Challenger Tour – in Bendigo, Australia, and at Indian Wells – but was beaten in straight sets in the first round of the Australian Open by Roger Federer.
He got to the third round in Delray Beach, but suffered another first-round defeat in Acapulco.
After playing in Exhibition Games and WorldTeamTennis, he returned to the ATP tour with a match against the world 105, Pedro Martinez of Spain in the first round of the Cincinnati Open, but lost in three sets.
John Isner v Steve Johnson Prediction & Tip
These two men have had their share of battles over the years, and Johnson has the slightly better record from those matches. However, they have not met since 2018, and never before in a Grand Slam. A close contest can be expected again, but Isner will start favourite this time to progress to the second round.
Tip: Isner to win in three sets: 13/8 (bet365)
The US Open 2020 will be played from August 31 to September 13. You can watch & bet on the US Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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