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Anderson v Isner: Battle of the giants

Cape Town - Friday’s Wimbledon semi-final between South Africa’s Kevin Anderson and American John Isner will be an encounter between two of the tallest players on the ATP World Tour.

READ: Massive pay day awaits Anderson

Both men will be appearing in their first Wimbledon semi-final, with Anderson upsetting defending champion Roger Federer and Isner prevailing over Canadian Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals.

The eighth-seeded Anderson stands 6-foot-8 (2.03m), while ninth-seed Isner is two inches taller at 6-foot-10 (2.08m).

Isner was however not the tallest player at this year’s Wimbledon, with that honour belonging to Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic (6-foot-11/2.11m), who lost in the second round.

Karlovic and American player Reilly Opelka, who’s also 6-foot-11, are the two tallest players listed on the ATP World Tour.

The tussle between Anderson and Isner will be a battle of big servers and could be determined by fine margins.

Isner, who is yet to drop serve at the tournament, has hit 160 aces compared to Anderson's 123, while the South African has lost serve nine times.

The duo have squared off 11 times before on the ATP World Tour, with the American holding an 8-3 advantage, including winning his last five matches against Anderson.

Ten of the 11 matches between them were played on hard courts, while the only encounter on grass came at the Queen’s Club in London in 2008, when Isner won in straight sets.

However, the pair’s last encounter was more than three years ago - at the Indian Wells Masters - and Anderson has made significant strides since then.

In his past two matches, the South African overcame opponents he had never beaten before - Federer had a 4-0 head-to-head record, while Frenchman Gael Monfils (in the Round of 16) boasted five wins over Anderson.

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