Isner outlasts Wolf at Dallas and reach his first final in 2023

In the first semifinal match, John Isner defeated J.J. Wolf in a third set tie-break and is the first runner-up at the Dallas Open

So far, Isner had not lost a service game in the three matches he had played in the tournament, with wins over C.H. Tseng, Daniel Altmaier and Emilio Gomez.

Wolf came with good sensations at the beginning of the year, after reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, and in Dallas he continued to show a high level. He won the first two rounds in straight sets against Brandon Holt and Radu Albot. In the quarterfinals, the 24-year-old had beaten compatriot Frances Tiafoe in a tight 3-setter.

The first set started quite even, with both players showing excellent serves. At 3-2, J.J. Wolf changed the first break, thanks to a double fault from John Isner that gave him the game. The 37-year-old's first break down was enough for Wolf to win the set 6-3.

However, John Isner didn’t give up, and they played a second set with both players winning their service games up to 5-5, when the world No. 39 broke and closed out the set 7-5.

In the final set, both players served excellently, leading to a tiebreaker with neither breaking the other. This time, Isner's experience was stronger than Wolf's game, and he won the game with a final score of 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4).

The American will play the final on Sunday against the winner of the match between 1st seed Taylor Fritz and Chinese Wu Yibing.