John Isner will take on Tomas Berdych in the final showdown at Winston-Salem Open – Tennis News
Defending champion, John Isner, will face off the second seeded Tomas Berdych in the title-round at the Winston-Salem Open 2012, last US Open warm-up tournament taking place in North Carolina, United States. The American star stunned top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets while Berdych eased past Sam Querrey in straight sets to set up this duel.
Both stars are battling each other for the fourth time with the Czech number one leading the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series by 2-1 against Isner. They last encountered at the French Open two years ago where Berdych eased past the American star in straight sets in 93 minutes. He was never challenged with any breakpoint and cashed in seven out of 12 break opportunities to pull out the victory.
The home favourite, Isner surprised everyone after stunning the French number one in two hours and 12 minute-long marathon. He struck 24 aces and capitalised on one out of 10 break chances to formulate a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) victory in their fourth encounter. The delighted American spilled two double faults but manifested a better first serve share of 64 per cent.
“I’m playing the final match, so I’m very satisfied with that. I’m looking to defend my title,” Isner stated after the match.
Berdych on the other hand recorded a 6-4, 6-3 success against the seventh seed. He withstood 18 aces and cashed in five out of 18 break opportunities to steal the spotlight. However, the Czech spilled four double faults and clobbered an acceptable first serve share of 61 per cent.
Ranked seventh in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Czech reflected about his performance in a courtside interview after overpowering Querrey:
“I don’t think I necessarily needed to break him five times, but on the other hand, I lost my serve a couple of times. I was trying to get my chances. In the first set, I had more than 10 break points. Probably the one thing I was not happy with was my serve in the second set. I lost quite an easy game. I was playing better on the tough points and that was the decider today.”
Fans can expect an epic clash between both tennis stars. The Czech showed brilliant skills in the clay season. He made title-round appearances at the Mutua Madrid Open and the Power Horse World Team Cup. Spicing his performance further, he conquered an indoor hard court event in Montpellier at the start of the season (trashed third seed Gael Monfils). Berdych has more experience but he lost five in a row against Top 10 players.
The American number one on the other side has full support of his home crowd. He conquered the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport and is in terrific form on hard courts. Isner has won 11 of last 12 matches at his home soil and is expected to formulate a 6-4, 7-5 victory against the Czech veteran.
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