Isner edges Dimitrov in Paris Masters last 16 tie

John Isner rallied from a third-set deficit to edge Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (12-10), 5-7, 7-6 (7-3) in the Paris Masters round-of-16 match here.

Despite firing 25 aces, the ninth-seeded Isner struggled more than usual on serve. He faced a total of 12 break points although he managed to save all but two of them to stick around in the contest, reports Efe.

The American prevailed in an extremely tight first set, while the sixth-seeded Dimitrov got a late service break in the second set that enabled him to draw even.

The Bulgarian seemed to have the contest in hand when he took a 5-2 lead with one service break and then held a match point on Isner's serve in the eighth game.

But the American got out of that jam to hold serve, broke Dimitrov for the first time in the match in the ensuing game and then held again to level the third set at 5-5.

The match came down to a third-set tie-breaker, which Isner won comfortably to advance into the quarter-finals.

Isner will square off next at this indoor hard-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event against Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who defeated the Netherlands' Robin Haase.

Meanwhile, Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, who reached the Paris Masters quarter-finals after beating Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas, admitted that his right knee was not 100 per cent.

Nadal on Thursday said that he would compete in the upcoming ATP World Finals in London if nothing went wrong, reports Efe.

"It's obvious my knee is not 100 percent fit. If not, I wouldn't have asked the trainer to tape it," Nadal said. The World No.1 said the objective of the strapping was to support the kneecap but did not give more details.

"Even if I withdraw tomorrow, it does not mean that I would be 100 percent fit in London," he added, insisting that if nothing went wrong he would play in less than two weeks in London.

In another development, 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, will be out of world’ top 10 tennis players for the first time in more than a decade in the coming week.

Argentinean del Potro's win over Robin Haase in the Paris Masters third round confirmed that former world number one will not be named among top ten for the first time since March 2007.

The Serbian’s elbow injury had restricted him from playing since Wimbledon in July. While like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are achieving new heights in their career, 30-year-old Djokovic is struggling with his form due to fitness.