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
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.
Comeback season 🔥
@TKokkinakis defeats No. 2 seed John Isner 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 7-6(4) to reach the quarter-finals at #AdelaideTennis 🙌 https://t.co/1xjBpO1dvE
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.
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.
John Isner vs Maxime Cressy prediction
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.
Nadal, Nadal, Nadal y volver a Nadal
Qué alegria ver de nuevo a @RafaelNadal ganando un título, el 89º de su carrera 
7-6 y 6-3 ante Cressy en Melbourne🇪🇸 Nadal, Nadal, Nadal y volver a Nadal
🏆 Qué alegria ver de nuevo a @RafaelNadal ganando un título, el 89º de su carrera
✅ 7-6 y 6-3 ante Cressy en Melbourne
https://t.co/8Dm3HZ1oGR