The world no. 9 and the defending Miami champion John Isner is just two wins away from lifting the second straight Masters 1000 crown in Florida, despite not playing his best tennis. Interestingly, John is yet to lose a set at Hard Rock Stadium, ousting Sonego, Ramos-Vinolas, Kyle Edmund and Roberto Bautista Agut in eight tight sets, with seven of those reaching a tie break and one against Ramos-Vinolas that he won 7-5! Two days ago, Roberto Bautista Agut toppled the world no. 1 Novak Djokovic but he failed to capitalize on that, falling 7-6, 7-6 in an hour and 45 minutes towards his first Masters 1000 semi-final in a year. Isner's groundstrokes were not there again, especially his forehand that guided him towards almost 30 mistakes, fixing all that with the powerful serve that delivered 24 aces and offered only one break point to Bautista Agut, in the very last service game of the match. The Spaniard saved three break points in total to stay in contention all the time, taming his shots nicely and trying to extend the rallies as much as possible. He had the advantage in the mid-range exchanges but not in the most extended rallies where John surprisingly stayed in touch, winning six out of 13 and forging the crucial gap in the shortest department up to four strokes, firing an unreturned serve in every third point and prevailing in both tie breaks to move into the last four. John could have stepped in front already in the fourth game, creating a break point and constructing the 24-stroke point nicely until the routine forehand that he didn't play well, allowing the Spaniard to escape and stay in touch in the rest of the set before the tie break that the American claimed 7-1 with three mini-breaks. Isner fired no less than six winners in eight points and was hoping for more of the same in set number two, playing with less pressure on his back after such a sharp display in the opener. Nothing could separate them in the first eight games before Roberto offered two break points to his rival when his backhand landed long in the ninth game. Facing an elimination, he repelled them both (John had a point in his hands on the second chance) and created a set point on the return at 6-5 in the only loose service game for a giant server. A service winner took the danger away for a home player and he had to work hard in the tie break as well after trailing 3-0. In the pivotal moments, John played a couple of rock-solid baseline points to grab two mini-breaks, defending the next four serves nicely and sealing the deal at 6-5 when Roberto netted a forehand to advance into the last four for the third time in Miami.<doc-sep>John Isner on course to defend Miami Open title after booking semi-final spot John Isner remains on course to defend his Miami Open title after his tiebreak luck held against Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals. The giant American extended his tiebreak record to 7-0 in his first for matches at Miami Gardens with a 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-5) win in which he produced 24 aces. He, though, is simply relieved to have sealed his progression to the semi-finals of the competition. “He was embroiling me in a baseline game on his serve and was making it very tough for me because he’s just so, so tough from the baseline,” Isner said. “He’s everyone’s friend,” Isner said of Agut. “He’s such a good guy. “I think no one really talks about how nice and genial he is off the court. He’s one of the best guys we have on tour, hands down.” The 2018 Miami Open is Isner’s only Masters-level title to date, and he admits that makes it a special tournament for him. “I love playing here,” he said. “It’s one of the best cities in the world. “The greatest thing about being a professional tennis player is we travel to the greatest cities all over the world. “Aside from that, I really like the conditions here. Good recipe for me. “I did say prior to this tournament that chances are I’m not going to defend this title, and I’ll still keep saying that because I’ve only won one in my career. “So, do the math. But I’m two wins away right now.” Follow us on Twitter @T365Official and like our Facebook page. More from Tennis365:<doc-sep>MIAMI OPEN order of play: Roger Federer gets to play his rain delayed match When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments Rain in Miami last night meant Roger Federer's fourth-round clash against Daniil Medvedev was postponed. But he is scheduled second on Hard Rock Stadium following the WTA quarter-final between Qiang Wang and Simona Halep. After beating world No 1 Novak Djokovic, Roberto Bautista Agut returns to action against defending champion John Isner. The night session sees Karolina Pliskova vs Marketa Vondrousova and Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Borna Coric.<doc-sep>Miami Open: Kyle Edmund beats Milos Raonic FREE for news on the biggest players and tournaments SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Isner was leading 7-6, 6-6 and ahead 5-3 in the tense tiebreak. However, the crowd at the Hard Rock Stadium were persistently shouting “out”, which was throwing Edmund off guard. He then proceeded to stop the rally mid-point - but the umpire was not having any of it. “Stop stop stop,” Edmund shouted. And the umpire said: “It is the public, you cannot do that. “It was not disturbing you, you cannot stop the match like this. “It is the person from the crowd, you cannot stop like this. “He [Isner] didn’t stop, you stopped. You lose the point.” Kyle Edmund fumed at the Miami Open umpire Kyle Edmund was furious with the shouting from the crowd Edmund losing the point meant that Isner then had three match points. “They keep shouting every point. You didn’t hear anything?” Edmund replied. “Did you not hear anything? Did you hear anything from the fans? “So you did hear something? Great. I keep hearing it. Unbelievable.” The British No 1 was knocked out by John Isner<doc-sep>
Kyle Edmund lost to defending Miami Open champion John Isner British No 1 Kyle Edmund went down to defending Miami Open champion John Isner in two tight sets on Tuesday. Edmund, who upset Canadian 12th seed Milos Raonic in the previous round, could not repeat the feat against the big American, going down 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) in one hour and 40 minutes. Isner, now 33, won the biggest title of his career in this tournament a year ago, and he reached the quarter-finals to continue his quest to defend his title with a tie against world No 1 Novak Djokovic or Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut. Isner could face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals "Kyle is constantly improving. It's not that he's up and coming anymore, he's already here," Isner said of Edmund during his on-court interview with the ATP. "He was hurt after the Australian Open and came back to win a Challenger [at Indian Wells]. "He's been playing great and he's an incredible player. In my opinion, it's only a matter of time before he gets in the top 10." Greek eight seed Stefanos Tsitsipas dispatched Leonardo Mayer 6-4 6-4, Canadian youngster Felix Auger Aliassime beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, while Croatian 11th seed Borna Coric put an end to the Nick Kyrgios show, winning 4-6 6-3 6-2. In the women's quarter-finals, Estonia's Anett Kontaveit rallied from 0-4 down in the deciding set to defeat Hsieh Su-Wei 3-6 6-2 7-5 and advance to the last four. We have the tennis season covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.