Isner On The Right Course; Joins Tipsarevic, del Potro In Olympics Third Round

© Getty ImagesJohn Isner admitted on Monday, "When I first entered the court, I didn’t know whether to go right or left. I had to ask someone."

Tenth seed John Isner defeated Tunisian Malek Jaziri 7-6(1), 6-2 in 85 minutes at the London 2012 Olympics Tennis Event on Monday in his first appearance on a show court at the All England Club, Wimbledon.

Competing on Court One, the American hit 15 aces, won nine of his 12 points at the net and fired 27 winners past Jaziri, who committed 15 unforced errors.

“[It was] the first time I played on a show court here,” said Isner. “I have never played on Centre Court; I have never played on Court One. I like that court a lot, the atmosphere is great. It’s special.

“When I first entered the court, I didn’t know whether to go right or left. I had to ask someone. I wouldn’t mind playing on that court in my next match.”

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Isner stands a good chance. He will challenge seventh-seeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, who weathered the loss of the first set against Philipp Petzschner of Germany to convert two of his 10 break point opportunities for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win in one hour and 46 minutes on Court 2.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Tipsarevic. “There was a lot of wind, so we had to control the bounce and the toss of the serve was not easy. One of the reasons why I won today was because of the crowd. I am very grateful for the Serbian fans, they did not disappoint me.”

Later in the day, eighth seed Juan Martin del Potro fought past Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-3, 7-6(2) on Centre Court. Buoyed by Argentine support, del Potro hit 21 winners – nine fewer than Seppi – and saved seven of eight break points to advance to the third round.

“I didn’t really miss much, but I had a little bit of luck in the important moments,” said del Potro. “You play your tennis trying to do your best, but you feel something different than on other courts.

“When you play this kind of competition you feel pressure, but also you enjoy [it] a lot. I’m here trying to do my best and see how far I go.”

Del Potro goes onto play French No. 12 seed Gilles Simon, who cruised past Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-3 in one hour.