The impressive run of two American players continued Friday at the 2011 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, as both John Isner and Donald Young won, advancing to Saturday's semifinal matches.
Isner, a finalist at this tournament in 2007, defeated third-seeded Viktor Troicki Friday, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-1. With the win, Isner advances to his third straight ATP semifinal. He will now face No. 1 seed Gael Monfils, who dispatched Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the semis.
Isner's run is impressive, but the strong play of lefty Donald Young on his way to the semifinals might be the real story of the tournament so far. Young, who turned pro at age 14 much to the chagrin of critics, beat last year's Legg Mason runner-up, Marcos Baghdatis, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to advance to the first ATP semifinal of his career. Young will now face the Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek in the semis. Stepanek defeated fifth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals 6-4, 6-4.
Anyone else pulling for the all-American Isner/Young final, fittingly played in the Nation's Capitol?
For more on the tournament, head over to the SB Nation page on the event, and check out our Tennis blog The Daily Forehand.