John Isner, Donald Young, and Bobby Reynolds all took part in one of the final Wimbledon tune-ups this week in Nottingham, United Kingdom. The three Southern players hoped to polish their skills at the Slazenger Open and looked to gain confidence going into the major grass tournament next week. All three players are now out of the tournament after Reynolds' second round loss.
Bobby Reynolds took on France’s Nicolas Mahut in the first round. This was a tight match that went to three sets before Reynolds came away with the 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory. Reynolds was dominant on his serve, connecting for fifteen aces compared to only one double fault. Reynolds was also able to win 60% of the points off Mahut’s second serve resulting in four breaks. In the second round, Reynolds faced Spain's Fernando Verdasco. Reynolds struggled the entire match, getting broken four times without being able to capitalize on his own break opportunities. Reynolds lost the match 2-6, 3-6 and will now wait to see where he falls in the draw at Wimbledon.
The other two Southern players did not have as much success in the first round as Reynolds. Donald Young faced France’s Gilles Simon. Simon, the fifth seed of the tournament, had no problem in breaking Young’s serve 33% of the time. Young could not get anything going as he lost 1-6, 4-6.
John Isner came into his match against top seeded Radek Stepanek looking to use his powerful serve to his advantage. Isner, usually a big server, was only able to fire seven aces during the match, allowing Stepanek to put the ball back in play. Isner did not have any success against Stepanek’s serve either, as he was unable to gain a break opportunity the entire match and would go on to lose 3-6, 2-6.