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By Alberto Amalfi | Monday, October 24, 2016

 
John Isner

John Isner hit 18 aces in a 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4 win over Jan-Lennard Struff, while Ivo Karlovic cracked 16 aces in a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over Steve Johnson.

Photo credit: Getty

ATP ace race leaders brought the boom, while Tomas Berdych met doom in Vienna today.

Qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili shocked the second-seeded Berdych, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-5, in the opening round of the Vienna Open.

The 107th-ranked Basilashvili, who became the first Georgian to reach an ATP final at Kitzbühel earlier this season, outslugged Berdych in heavy baseline exchanges.

John Isner hit 18 aces in a 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4 win over Jan-Lennard Struff, while Ivo Karlovic cracked 16 aces defeating Steve Johnson, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

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The eighth-seeded Karlovic drove 10 of his 16 aces in the second set and saved all six break points he faced downing Johnson for the second time this season. Karlovic swept the 26-year-old American in the Washington, DC semifinals in August.

The 6'11" Karlovic will play 5'9" Damir Dzumhur in the second round. The 92nd-ranked qualifier dispatched Nicolas Almagro, 6-3, 5-7, 6-0.

Isner bounced back from last week's opening-round loss to eventual-champion Juan Martin del Potro in Stockholm rallying from a set down today. The 27th-ranked American won 20 of 24 points played on his serve in the final set, wrapping up the win in one hour, 55 minutes.

The 31-year-old Isner will play either seventh-seeded Lucas Pouille or 2004 Vienna champion Feliciano Lopez in round two.

Isner has hit 1,015 aces on the season, second to Karlovic who leads the ATP with 1,019. Since 2007, Karlovic has led the ATP in aces five different seasons, while Isner has been ace leader three times in that span.

In the day's first match, 20-year-old Russian wild card Karen Khachanov overpowered Andreas Seppi, 6-4, 6-4.

It was Khachanov's first win since he defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the Chengdu Open final to capture his first career title earlier this month. The 63rd-ranked Russian will play Basilashvili in the second round.


 

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