John Isner fired 16 aces in a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 victory over Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt on Sunday to win the ATP Hall of Fame Championships title for the second year running.
“It’s huge for me,” the top-seeded American said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever defended a title. I’m very happy to come through today against a great opponent — in my opinion one of the greatest ever. It’s a big win for me.”
Hewitt, who received a wild card, was playing in his first final since June 2010, when he captured his 28th career title on the grass courts at Halle, Germany.
The two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 has battled a string of injuries in recent years and underwent radical foot surgery in February.
Isner’s triumph ended Hewitt’s unbeaten career run in grass-court finals, putting his record at 7-1, but with his run to the championship match, Hewitt is projected to rise from his current 233rd in the world to about No. 151 in the rankings.
His performance was also a morale-booster as he prepares for the Olympics at Wimbledon, where the 31-year-old is set to play singles as a wild-card entrant.
Isner is also scheduled for Olympic action and he welcomed the chance to tune-up for the Games with tournament competition.
He plans to fit in one more ATP tournament before the Games, heading the field in Atlanta, Georgia this week.
“The best practice is match practice,” said Isner, who saved the only break point he faced in the match in the first set.
The American gained the only break of the contest to take a 2-1 lead in the second set and that was the only opening he needed.
After Hewitt saved one match point against his serve in the ninth game, Isner closed it out with a dominant service game that opened with two aces, followed by a service winner and his final ace of the match on his second match point.
Isner claimed his fourth career title and his first of the year after runner-up finishes in Indian Wells, California, and Houston, Texas.
CROATIA OPEN
AP, UMAG, CROATIA
Marin Cilic became the first home player to win the Croatia Open in 22 years on Sunday by beating Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
Cilic trailed 4-2 in the first set, before winning nine games in a row to seize a commanding 5-0 lead in the second.
Cilic served for the match at 5-1, but Granollers broke and saved two match points, before Cilic sealed the victory with a forehand winner.
Cilic is the first Croat to claim the title since Goran Prpic won the inaugural event in 1990. It was his second title of the year, after winning at Queen’s Club in London last month.
“This was a special week and a special victory for me,” Cilic told the crowd in Umag. “I played some great tennis.”
Granollers said Cilic “was a better player today.”
“I started well, but with players like Cilic you have to be careful,” said Granollers, who ousted top-seeded countryman Fernando Verdasco in the semi-finals.
Despite the loss, Granollers moved into the top 20 in the ATP rankings yesterday for the first time, jumping from 24th to 19th. He won his last title in Valencia, Spain, in November last year.
SWEDISH OPEN
AFP, BASTAD, SWEDEN
In-form spaniard and top seed David Ferrer won his fifth ATP title of the year in Bastad, Sweden, on Sunday, beating compatriot Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 6-2.
Ferrer, 30 and winning his 16th career title in what was his 31st final, eased to the title against his 26-year-old opponent, who has yet to beat him in 10 meetings.
Ferrer is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career and it was his 51st win of a season that has seen him reach the French Open semi-finals and push Andy Murray hard in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
It saw him add the Swedish open title to those he has already accrued in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, on grass, on the hard court of Auckland, New Zealand, and his favored clay surface like Bastad, as well as Buenos Aires and Acapulco, Mexico.
MERCEDES CUP
AFP, STUTTGART, Germany
Top seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia won the Mercedes Cup on Sunday, a victory that allowed his wife to drive away with a luxury Mercedes.
World No. 8 Tipsarevic won his third career ATP Tour title by beating Argentine second seed Juan Monaco 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
It was the 28-year-old’s first trophy of the year and it adds to previous titles in Moscow and Kuala Lumpur last year.
Tipsarevic also won a top-of-the-range Mercedes-Benz.
“I don’t want to call it a deal, but I have pretty solid car at home, so I don’t need it,” Tipsarevic said. “But my wife [Biljana] and I had our anniversary a couple of days back. She also had her birthday. So I promised her the car, if I won the tournament. The points go to me.”
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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