John Isner is extremely happy on defending both of his titles in this season – Tennis News
Number one American tennis player, John Isner, succeeded in defending his second championship title of the current season. The world number 10 defeated the second seed, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, to capture the Winston-Salem
Open crown on Saturday.
It is just the second time in his career that Isner has managed to defend his title. The American star previously defended his Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships crown in Newport last month, beating former world number
one, Lleyton Hewitt, in the final.
Talking to the reporters after his match against Berdych, Isner 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."
The American faced stiff competition in the latest final, as he was facing one of the top players on the ATP World Tour. Isner lost the first set but then fought back to win two in a row to clinch his title victory. He also faced
three match points in the tie-break but saved them with some courageous play to stay alive in the competition.
Isner 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."
This was Isner’s second win over a top 10 player on successive days, as he had stunned the world number six, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in the semi-finals.
The 27-year-old is now at the second position in the 2012 Emirates Airline US Open Series Bonus Challenge Standings with 140 points. He is just behind the world number two, Novak Djokovic, who is leading the table with 170.
With this win, Isner has improved his win/loss record to 40-15 in this season. The American star has downed Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in this season at the Davis Cup and BNP Paribas Open respectively.
Tags: