By Erik Gudris / Friday, January 10, 2014

 

John Isner will seek his first title of 2014 in the Heineken Open finals. But top seed David Ferrer found himself knocked out in a surprise upset.

Photo Credit: AP

Despite continuing to deal with a sore ankle, John Isner will play for his first title of the season at the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand.

But the big American had to work in his semifinal.

World No. 73 Roberto Bautista Agut, his opponent, took control early by winning the first set and getting ahead in the second. Isner, down 4-5, managed to send things into a tiebreak that he won. From there, Isner scraped into Saturday's final with a 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 win.

"I was a bit erratic. I felt like I made a lot of mistakes out there," Isner said. "I was missing some forehands that I don't normally miss. But at the same time, my opponent was simply playing better than me for the majority of that match. I just stuck with it mentally."

Should he win, Auckland will be Isner's 17th career ATP final.

Lu Knocks Out Top Seed Ferrer in Semis

Three-time defending champion and top seed David Ferrer entered as a heavy favorite in his semi against Yen-Hsun Lu.

But in the end, it was Lu who booked his spot in the final. Though Ferrer had won 14 matches in a row at the event, Lu played solid tennis throughout. Serving at 71 percent for the afternoon, Lu completed the surprise 6-4, 7-6(4) victory.

The 30-year-old Lu now enters his first ever ATP final. Isner leads the head-to-head 1-0 having won their only previous meeting in Atlanta last year.