Steve Johnson rolls into Citi Open semis

7:27 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Trailing in a tiebreaker against top-seeded John Isner, Steve Johnson managed to put a 146 mph serve into play and then decided to try something even more audacious: lob his 6-foot-10 opponent.

Much to Johnson’s surprise, the high-arcing backhand worked, winning the point. Hanging in there against the big-serving Isner, Johnson weathered a total of 12 set points and withstood 29 aces to win their all-American quarterfinal at the Citi Open 7-6 (7), 7-6 (15) on Friday.

“You’re never too tall to lob. I thought he was going to close in really hard. And I just hit a good lob. I mean, that’s about it,” the fifth-seeded Johnson said about the point that came with Isner ahead 5-3 in the opening tiebreaker. “I don’t know if I’ll ever try to lob him again and it’ll work, but luckily it worked today.”

Isner’s take?

“I love Stevie to death,” he said, “but I don’t think that backhand lob he hit — I don’t think he could do that all the time.”

Isner is a three-time runner-up at the hard-court tournament, including a year ago, when he beat Johnson in the semifinals. This time, Isner was unable to convert five set points in the opening frame and another seven in the second. When he lost the first tiebreaker on Johnson’s forehand winner, Isner mangled his racket by slamming it to the court.

The second tiebreaker was even longer and more excruciating for Isner. On his …

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