John Isner will be looking to make it two titles in two weeks when he takes the court on Sunday in Washington, D.C. Standing in his way, however, is No. 1 seed Juan Martin Del Potro.
(1) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (8) John Isner
Del Potro and Isner will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they collide in the final of the Citi Open on Sunday. Somewhat supririsngly given his propensity for competitive matches, Isner has never taken a single set off Del Potro. The Argentine prevailed 6-4, 6-4 at this same event in 2008, won in two tiebreakers at the Indian Wells Masters one season later, and he most recently triumphed 6-4, 6-3 on the indoor hard courts of Memphis in 2011.
Isner, though, is a different beast during the American hard-court summer (and much improved from what he was in 2008)–and he is proving it again right now. The 6’9” American captured the title last weekend in Atlanta and so far in Washington, D.C.–where he was the 2007 runner-up–he has defeated Alex Kuznetsov, Somdev Devvarman, Marcos Baghdatis, and Dmitry Tursunov.
At the same time, Del Potro is in similarly outstanding form. The world No. 7 reached the semifinals of Wimbledon before losing to top-ranked Novak Djokovic in an epic five setter. Del Potro has kicked it right back into gear with straight-set victories this week at the expense of Ryan Harrison, Bernard Tomic, Kevin Anderson, and Tommy Haas.
This promises to be a high-quality and close encouter–perhaps even closer than their Indian Wells meeting. That’s because Isner is serving up a storm at the moment. The world No. 20 has been broken only once so far this tournament and he fired 29 aces compared to just one double-fault against Tursunov. In his last 44 service games, Isner has dropped a ridiculous 39 points. Furthermore, not only are both men playing great but they are also formidable in ATP title matches. Del Potro is 14-6 lifetime while Isner is 7-7 but 4-0 in his last four dating back to last summer.
A slight edge goes to the top seed, who has been in cruise-control while watching Isnet battle through consecutive three-setters in the quarters and semis.
Pick: Del Potro in 3
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