There must be something about Atlanta and John Isner that brings the best out in the big man. Last night he claimed his 5th Atlanta title in 6 Years in a rerun of last years final where he battled it out once more against fellow American Ryan Harrison eventually coming through 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Isner beat Harrison last year in the final too 7-6, 7-6.
Big John would have probably found more satisfaction in this win than last years because although it took him three sets this time, he won his two sets with clear breaks rather than tie breaks showing he has a remarkable degree of mobility on court for a guy that measures 6ft 10inches.
Age Defying Tennis
At the age of 33 John Isner is enjoying the best year of his career having won his first ATP masters back in March with a stunning victory over Alexander Zverev in three sets. It's a like a fairy tale for the big american because considering his height you would actually think he more than any other player would be on a downward spiral at 33 considering his height. It just goes to show that as a sportsman you can defy age and still produce dogged and high class tennis well into your 30's no matter what your makeup.
Atlanta is an American Stomping Ground
Since the Atlanta ATP started 8 years ago, only one none American has ever won the title, that was Nick Kyrgios back in 2016 where he beat Isner 7-6, 7-6 in a very tight final. This is quiet a remarkable statistic. Here are Big John's 5 Atlanta final wins...
The composition of players for the Atlanta ATP needs improving, since it began it has struggled to attract more than four top 20 players each tournament. This has no doubt added to Isner's success here and is probably why he likes coming back so much to clear up!
Isner Shows He's More Than Just a Brute Force Server
One of John Isner's underrated qualities is his forehand which when hit cleanly can smash through any players defense. Unlike the taller Ivo Karlović (6ft 11inch) Isner has really worked on his baseline game over the years and has been known to take tough opponents out in clean sets without the need for a tie break. Just look at his Miami Masters final win this year against the far more mobile Alexander Zverev where he won his two sets 6-4, 6-4. That was the win of his career!
A Real Scrap of a Final Against Harrison
If someone would have said before the match that there would be no tie breaks in this one, I'd have probably said it's a 5/1 shot. Both Harrison and Isner are big servers and though Isner is capable of breaking players, managing to break Harrison in both sets would be highly unlikely given Harrison's service quality. Yet Harrison won the first set with a break of serve and Isner won both his sets with breaks of serve.
It was a real scrappy affair where Isner showed signs of nerves in the first set gifting Harrison plenty of chances to break before he finally conceded his serve at 5-5. Harrison was the far more consistent player on serve in the first and went on to comfortably seal the set. This looked like it was going to be Harrison's title for a change (he has only ever won one title in his entire career at a now defunct indoor event in Memphis!)
During the second set Isner again started off nervy, struggling to hold but he managed to scrape through a few early service games before taking his first chance at a break a point.
Both the second and third sets were real baseline battlers for the two players but probably what made the difference between the two was Isner's willingness to come to the net to finish points off where as Harrison was net shy for most of the match.
Isner came through set two and three in comfortable fashion in the end 6-3, 6-4. Onwards and upwards for the big american. Isner for the US Open title? I doubt it, Grand Slam 5 setters are a step too far for the big man to overcome.
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