John Isner fights past Tomas Berdych to win the title – Winston-Salem Open 2012
USA’s best player, John Isner succeeded in defending his title by beating the second seed, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic in the Winston-Salem Open final on Saturday.
The American showed superb fighting spirit, as he had lost the opener and then saved three match points in the final set tie-breaker to capture it 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(9).
There was no break of serve in the first four games of the match, levelling the score at 2-2. Berdych broke the American star in the fifth and then held his following serve without losing even a single point, going down 2-4. Isner
reduced the trail to 3-4, after he managed to win his serve in the seventh game but the American number one was able to win only a single point in the following two and lost it 3-6.
Isner did not lose hope and started brilliantly in the second set, snatching a break in the very first game and holding his following serve to gain a 2-0 lead. The American player sustained his advantage till the end of the proceedings,
sealing it 6-4.
There was a close competition between both players in the decider, as none of them allowed the other to claim a breakthrough, squaring off the score at 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. Isner grabbed a 2-0 lead at its start but Berdych
bounced back to even out the proceedings at 3-3. The American contender faced match points at 5-6, 6-7 and 8-9 but saved all of them and went on to win 11-9.
Isner relied on his serve to win most of the points, bombarding 22 aces and 70 percent of the first deliveries. The American converted 49 of the 64 first deliveries into points, committing only double fault in the entire match.
This is the second title that Isner has defended this year, as he also won the Newport crown.
The American said, "It’s a great feeling. Both my titles this year are the exact same titles I won last year. Defending a title is not easy. There’s pressure on you coming into the tournament so I think for me to do that, at both
Newport and here in Winston-Salem, it should help me a lot going forward in the coming years. I’m absolutely thrilled. “
He added, "It was a very good match, an incredible atmosphere. It was a lot of fun to play out there. There were certainly some tense times all throughout the match. At times probably wasn’t the prettiest of tennis.”
Isner will be hoping to match at least his last year’s performance at the US Open, when he reached the last-eight stage.
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