Nicolas Mahut certainly knows a little something about being on court for a long time. Judging by his smile, it was a much better feeling this time.
The 31-year old Frenchman captured the title at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Sunday, beating Lleyton Hewitt of Australia 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
Mahut, a 2007 Newport finalist and a wild-card entrant last week, won his second career ATP title. The other came at the Topshelf Open last month.
Mahut lost the longest match in tennis history three years ago, dropping the fifth set to John Isner 70-68 at Wimbledon in a match that lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes. A display with items used in that match is located a few hundred meters away in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
On Sunday morning, Mahut advanced after beating American Michael Russell 6-2, 6-2 in just 63 minutes. Mahut needed 2 hours, 19 minutes to get past Hewitt. Then he had to prepare for a doubles semi-final.
In the final set, Mahut broke in the sixth and eighth games to take control. He won the final point with a drop shot at the net, then dropped to his knees, putting both hands to his face before bending face down.
In the second set, Hewitt led 5-3. Mahut held in the ninth game, before breaking in the 10th, winning the last two points when Hewitt double faulted.
Earlier in the day, two-time defending champion Isner’s run on Newport’s grass court came to an end when he was ousted by No. 4 seed Hewitt 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
The loss ended 13 straight match wins in Newport for the 28-year old Isner, the highest-ranked American at No. 19.
The 32-year old Hewitt, who lost the Newport final to Isner last year, felt the lengthy earlier match affected his play.
Both semi-finals were rained out on Saturday.
The 2.08m Isner said he felt pain in his left knee area, similar to what forced him to retire in his second-round match at Wimbledon last month.
“It was obviously not as severe because I was able to continue,” he said. “It was a little bit scary. The more I think about it and the more I talk about it, I think it’s an issue with my quad because the pain is directly above my kneecap.”
However, he said it was not the reason he lost the match, which was played in bright sunshine under humid conditions, with temperatures around 29oC.
“He handled the conditions much better than me, simple as that,” he said. “He deserved to win.”
At 40-30 the final game, Hewitt ended the match with a forehand cross-court shot. He raised both hands in the air before waving to his wife, Bec, seated in the first row on the far end of the court.
MERCEDES CUP
AP, STUTTGART, Germany
Fabio Fognini came from behind to beat second-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in three sets in the final of the ATP Mercedes Cup on Sunday for his first career title.
The fifth-seeded Italian won 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on the sun-drenched clay court after taking a decisive 4-1 lead in the final set.
Fognini lost his first two career finals last year and went into the match with a 0-2 record against Kohlschreiber. Although he could not capitalize on an early break in the first set, Fognini took a 3-1 lead in the second. Kohlschreiber saved four set points in the eighth game, before Fognini served out the set.
Fognini led 4-1 before dropping serve in the third. He held on and became the first Italian champion in Stuttgart.
SWEDISH OPEN
AFP, BASTAD, Sweden
Carlos Berlocq of Argentina bagged his first ATP Tour title on Sunday in seeing off Spanish eighth seed Fernando Verdasco in straight sets at the Swedish Open.
The 30-year-old Berlocq won 7-5, 6-1 as he became the ninth over-30 title-winner on the men’s Tour this year after posting his success in 1 hour, 38 minutes.
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