Juan Monaco topples John Isner to clinch title – US Men’s Clay Court Championship 2012
Fourth seed, Juan Monaco of Argentina, grabbed his second title of the season, as he rallied to beat world number nine, John Isner, in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the US Men’s Clay Court Championship final in Houston on Sunday.
The Argentinean needed two hours and 27 minutes to overcome Isner in a closely contest encounter.
Monaco took an early lead, breaking the American in the third game of the opening set and consolidating on it to move ahead 3-1. The Argentinean hit another blow in the seventh game and served it out at 5-2.
Isner made a commanding start in the second set, as he struck in the second game and held his following serve to build a 3-0 advantage. The American maintained his lead till the end, closing it out at 6-3.
Monaco and Isner started off steadily in the decider, winning their serve in the first seven games to take the score to 4-3 in the former’s favour. The Argentinean played aggressively in the next couple of games, claiming both
of them to capture it 6-3.
Commenting on the match, the champion said, “I think we played a great final. The first set, I played really well, and then he came back in the second set. In the final set, it was a battle. We fought until the last point. I served
pretty well in the last game, so I'm happy for that.”
Monaco has gained supreme form recently, as he reached the last four at Sony Ericsson Open after beating Gael Monfils, Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish on the road to the semi-final. With this performance, the Argentinean has regained
his career best ranking of 14.
He added, “This is a great moment in my career. I've worked very hard to be here. I have the clay-court season in Europe now, which is very important for me. This tournament is going to bring me a lot of confidence.”
On the other hand, Isner was a bit disappointed after failing to win the crown in front of his home crowd.
The American said, “I came out of the gates slow. I wasn't quite there. It took a while to get warmed up and engaged in the match.”
Isner will now take some rest and train with his coach, as he has opted to stay away from this week’s Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Monaco, who is seeded 11th there, will play Robin Haase in the first round.
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