Australian Open 2022: John Isner vs Maxime Cressy preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (22) John Isner vs Maxime Cressy

Date: 18 January 2022

Tournament: Australian Open 2022

Round: First round (Round of 128)

Venue: Melbourne, Australia

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $75,000,000

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Liv

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John Isner vs Maxime Cressy preview

Americans John Isner and Maxime Cressy will square off in the first round of the 2022 Australian Open on Tuesday.

Isner will be making his 13th appearance at the Major, while Cressy will return to main-draw action after making his Australian Open debut last year.

Despite being a terrific hardcourter, John Isner has never progressed beyond the fourth round at Melbourne Park (2010, 2016). In fact, the big-serving giant owns his poorest winning percentage at the Australian Open (56%) out of the four Majors and not at Roland Garros as one would expect.

The 36-year-old began his season at the ATP Cup, where he lost to Dan Evans and Jan-Lennard Struff while accounting for Canada's Brayden Schnur.

Isner then headed off to Adelaide, where he lost to Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-7(4) in a fiercely-contested first-round match.

Maxime Cressy, meanwhile, has posted more encouraging results during the build-up to the Australian Open. Cressy finished as runner-up to Rafael Nadal in the Melbourne Summer Set, where he stunned Reilly Opelka and Grigor Dimitrov on the way to the final.

The 24-year-old scored wins over Dusan Lajovic and Adrian Mannarino in Sydney the week after. However, he fell to Dan Evans in the quarterfinals.

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John Isner vs Maxime Cressy head-to-head

Isner and Cressy have never faced each other on tour, so their head-to-head stands at 0-0.

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John Isner vs Maxime Cressy prediction

Maxime Cressy at the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set

This match promises to be an ace-fest, with Isner and Cressy both possessing monstrous deliveries. Isner, however, is the more consistent server of the two and does not cough up as many double faults as his compatriot.

That being said, the 6'10" giant is largely a spent force and does not have the legs to engage in baseline duels in the best-of-five format. Cressy is in better physical shape given he is 24; he also pushed Rafael Nadal hard in some rallies when he faced the Spaniard a few days ago.

The younger American also has a deft touch at the net, which with his extensive use of the serve-and-volley tactic, could leave Isner flat-footed at the baseline due to his poor acceleration.

While Isner could take a set or two purely on his serve alone, it is unlikely he will have enough in his tank to outlast Cressy over five sets.

Prediction: Maxime Cressy to win in five sets.