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Isner's game flourished in the middle of the desert

The tall American's been playing his best tennis here. He beat two uncomfortable opponents without giving a break-ball. Đoković had problems defeating Ramos. Even though he knows this will be a different match, he's aware of the danger. He already lost to Isner here, and Isner's been saying that these conditions are perfect for him

Even though Novak played the first duel of Indian Wells perfectly, the conditions in this tournament proved to be tricky even in his book. Depending on the time, the conditions can change a lot, and sometimes it's hard to adjust all the ways necessary. Unlike Baghdatis who wanted to control things, and couldn't, Ramos's primary goal was to keep the ball in the game. Novak didn't have his day, he made 32 unforced errors and lost his serve twice. He still managed to celebrate in straight sets, and solved the first set in its final moments.

- I did struggle a lot, had some unforced errors. From the back of the court I didn't feel so great. But towards the end of the match was better, so hopefully it can be better in the next one too. I definitely need to work tomorrow on the balance and hopefully in the next one there will be fewer mistakes - the title defender didn't spare himself. He's careful about facing the first racquet of USA: 

- It will be totally different against Isner, not as many rallies. He has a big serve. His entire game depends on his serve. He serves a high percentage of first serves and can beat any player on any surface. 

He's not just saying that. Đoković lost to Karlović this season, and Isner is the most dangerous in this tournament. He got to the finals three years ago, and defeated Đoković in the semifinal. It was Đoković who stopped Isner in the semifinal last year. The match went to the third set, and Isner was too tired. He shouldn't have such problems this time. Not counting the Hopman Cup, this is the second time this season he connected wins. Like he said, he touched the bottom against Ward in the Davis Cup, and Indian Wells proved to be an oasis for his tennis once again. Even though the tournament is played in the desert, his game flourished.

The first match Isner played showed that the desert does him good. He lost three of four matches against Melzer, and the Austrian already played three matches, but it was a one way street in Isner's favor from the beginning. He won 11 break-balls, and had one in each set. Melzer didn't get any. 

Isner confirmed that that convincing win wasn't a fluke. The only chance Anderson got in the whole match was one set-ball in a tie-break. Isner didn't even let him get a break-ball, and after winning the first set, he also took the serve at the beginning of the second set. He confirmed his win with a new break in the seventh game.

- Not much separates us when we play each other. Today was no different, especially in that first set. I'm really proud how I sort of hung in there. I was down two mini breaks in that tiebreaker. I had a set point at 5-4. I was in the point - Isner was happy with another one of his good performances in his favorite tournament. He was confident when announcing the match against Đoković:

- I can't ask for better conditions to go up against someone like Đoković. These conditions suit me very well. That being said, every condition suits him well. He does everything best, that's why he's No.1 in the world. There is no surface he's a slouch on. But I think a court like this, and maybe hopefully the crowd on my side, can certainly help me a lot. 

They're both aware of what lies ahead because they faced each other in Indian Wells twice already. Isner celebrated in three sets three years ago, even though Novak had 11 points more. Last year saw three sets again, but Isner lost strength then. That was the semifinals. Isner won't be tired now. He didn't connect two matches this good for a long time, and his optimism is easy to understand.

Isner said it himself. If he could choose any court on the tour for the match against Djokovic, it would be Indian Wells. Here the conditions are perfect. He mentally reached the bottom in Davis Cup, and then he beat Malzer and Anderson who are uncomfortable for him. He didn't even offer them a single break.point, and now he's full of confidence. He played twice against Djokovic here. Once he won, the other time he lost, but both matches went into the third set. The high ball bounce and the slower conditions pull out the best from Isner. As for Djokovic, I would play this same bet even if he kicked Ramos. He struggled with him, made a lot of errors, but that doesn't mean a lot for this bet. It's very hard to return on Indian Wells to tall servers. Djokovic felt that ore than once, and this year he was beaten by Karlovic. The last three meetings went into the third set, and Isner managed to take two sets into overtime in Davis Cup. It all points to more games.