John Isner triumphs in Auckland on Saturday, getting the best of Yen-Hsun Lu in a high-quality final. Isner is joined in the winners’ circle by Juan Martin Del Potro, who destroyed Bernard Tomic in the Sydney title match.
Heineken Open: (3) John Isner d. Yen-Hsun Lu 7-6(4), 7-6(7)
Isner captured his eighth career ATP title and second in Auckland (2010) by holding off Lu after one hour and 41 minutes in an entertaining final on Saturday afternoon. It was the 14th-ranked American’s second match of the week that featured zero breaks of serve. Lu fought off 10 break points (three in the first, seven in the second) while Isner saved one in the opening frame of play. Chinese Taipei’s top player thwarted one championship point with his opponent serving at 6-5 in the second-set tiebreaker thanks to a stunning backhand pass, but Isner eventually clinched victory with a huge first delivery at 8-7.
“To say this was unexpected coming into the tournament would be a huge understatement,” Isner assured. “Sometimes that’s how things work out. You come in with low expectations, the pressure’s off, and things tend to work out. That was the case this week…. I knew it was going to be a tough match. I knew he was playing well. I thought it was my best performance all week. I was very happy with how I played. Apart from all the break points missed, I was extremely happy with everything.”
“He just served incredibly,” noted Lu, who had never even been to an ATP semifinal prior to this event. “Even sometimes when I guessed right I still couldn’t really get the ball back…. I had a great week and I’m happy with my performance. I hope I can keep it going now into next week.”
Apia International: (1) Juan Martin Del Potro d. Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-1
Tomic came within one match of defending his 2013 Sydney title, but he never came anywhere close to finishing it off against Del Potro on Saturday night. The top-seeded Argentine lost a mere six points in eight service games to dominate in just 53 minutes. Del Potro fired eight aces without double-faulting and broke Tomic twice in each of the clinical sets.
“The finals never are easy, but I was surprised of my level tonight,” Del Potro said. “I think I played great. My forehand worked perfectly. I made a lot winners; many aces. I think Bernard was a little frustrated after seeing me very focused on the match and hitting the ball so well.”
“Juan played too good,” Tomic praised. “There was nothing I could do. I knew it was going to be like that where either he plays very good or gives me more chances. Tonight showed why he’s that quality of a player. So there was nothing I could have done. I tried to keep up, but he kept playing the way he was playing. I haven’t seen a guy play a second set like that. It was too good.”
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