Defending champion Isner overcomes scare in Winston-Salem 2nd round match

Defending champion John Isner came back from a set down to battle his way through to the third round of the 2012 Winston-Salem Open. The American overcame Slovak Martin Klizan after a slow start, eventually winning 4-6  6-3  7-5.

The Slovak leftie got off to a dream start, breaking Isner in the opening game of the first set just before taking an unexpected lead in the match. No.3 seed Isner, however, picked up his game and one break of serve in each of the following two sets secured him a third round ticket, where he will meet 13th seed Austrian Jurgen Melzer.

Isner, who lost to Gasquet in the semis of this year’s Rogers Cup in Toronto, skipped the Cincinnati Masters last week. He will be hoping to fine-tune his form just before the start of the US Open next week.

Also through to the third round is Argentine wild card holder David Nalbandian, who defeated Dutch Robin Haase in straight sets 6-2  6-4. Next up for him will be no.4 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Tags John Isner Martin Klizan Winston Salem Open