ISNER WINS IN ATLANTA TENNIS

Written by: Staff on 2nd August 2015

ISNER WINS IN ATLANTA TENNIS

John Isner of the US kisses the championship trophy after defeating Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus during the singles final match at the BB&T Atlanta Open tennis tournament at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 02 August 2015. Isner defeated Baghdatis to win his third BB&T Atlanta Open in a row. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER |

American John Isner swept aside Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in the final of the BB&T Atlanta Open 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday, winning the tournament for the third year in a row.

He’s just the eighth active player to achieve a three-peat on the ATP World Tour and joins Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori and Lleyton Hewitt, who have 23 three-peats between them.

Isner needed just over an hour to secure the victory, which earned him 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and $106,565.

The top seed and world No. 19 fired 13 aces and never faced a break point against the fifth-seeded Baghdatis. He improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Cypriot to 6-0.

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in action against John Isner of the US during the singles final match at the BB&T Atlanta Open tennis tournament at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 02 August 2015. Isner defeated Baghdatis to win his third BB&T Atlanta Open in a row. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

The 30-year-old Isner has won three ATP World Tour titles this season, eclipsing his previous season-best of two, which he has achieved every year since 2011. With the win, he lifted his ATP World Tour finals record to 10-9, and 7-7 on hard courts.

Baghdatis, who is also 30, was aiming to end a title drought which dates back to 2010 in his first ATP World Tour final since 2011. He said an abductor injury that he had been battling since before Nottingham flared up during the final, which made it impossible to compete at 100 per cent.

“I played five matches this week…the good thing is that it’s nothing serious,” Baghdatis said, explaining that he has an inflamed tendon. “I didn’t play my best tennis this week but I’m pretty happy with my mental side, I found ways to win.”

“I felt great out there, I kept getting stronger and stronger,” said Isner, who admitted it’s tricky to play a wounded opponent. “I just needed to keep trying to play aggressive and go for my shots. I felt like I did that out there, for the most part.

“I’ve got the matches under my belt and that should bode well for me going forward,” said Isner, adding that he does not feel worn out. “I feel fine physically, the most important thing is that I have some confidence now, going forward, especially into my next tournament next week. It’s not about hitting the practice courts and working hard or working on this, it’s more about doing everything I can do get my body exactly right and try to get myself feeling the best I can, and I don’t foresee any issues with that.”

John Isner of the US in action against Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus during the singles final match at the BB&T Atlanta Open tennis tournament at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 02 August 2015. Isner defeated Baghdatis to win his third BB&T Atlanta Open in a row. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

The American No. 1 said he’s pleased with the way he played during the tournament, which he described as his favorite. “I had some very close matches, a lot of things went my way this week, I’m very appreciative of that and I’ll keep working hard.”

(Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link: http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/atlanta-2015-sunday-isner-final )

Topics: Atp World Tour, BB&T Atlanta Open, John Isner, Marcos Baghdatis, Sports, Tennis

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August 2, 2015 at 4:45 pm

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