John Isner, US top Tennis seed hit 17 aces in the final to win the ATP Hall of Fame title. He defeated Australia’s Matthew Ebden 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his 3rd ATP HOF title.
The first serve points converted into winners by Isner were 90.24% as he won 37 points of his 41 first serves. The 74 minute battle went on to the tie breaker in the second set, where Isner comfortably beat Ebden 7-4. This is Isner’s 11th ATP title and his 3rd on grass at Newport, Rhode Island. The first two titles he won were in 2011 and 2012
The most interesting fact is that Isner didn’t have to face a single break point in the entire tournament. The only set where he was stretched was the final set of the tournament against Ebden, where it went to the tie breaker.
“I’m very happy with how I played all week. It was a perfect week,” Isner said. “I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
“It’s hard to win a tournament,” Isner said. “It’s no small feat to come out here and be the last man standing. I’m very happy about that. It’s been two years since I won a tournament, so I had that weighing on my mind.”
“I could never imagine playing four matches and not facing a break point but I’ll certainly take it,” the 32-year-old American said in an interview
On the other hand, Ebden was the lowest ranked (249th) ATP finalist after 2009. Ebden had won 6 matches in 6 days to reach the finals which was also his first ever final in a major tournament.
“It’s disappointing, but at the same time I have to be happy with my week,” Ebden said.
Isner won his first title in 2 years, the last he won was in 2015. This was also his first final since last November’s Paris Masters, where he lost to Andy Murray.
Isner bettered his career record at Newport, as he now has 19 wins against 5 losses. Today, he broke the first service game of Ebden, to make it 2-0 in the first set. However, what should have been an easy victory for Isner proved to be a speed breaker in the form of a tie break in the second set as Ebden made a remarkable comeback. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t sustain those big serves and lost the tie break giving Isner his 3rd ATP Hall of Fame title.
He also beat Ebden for the 3rd time in his career in 3 matches they have played against each other so far. The first two were in 2012 (Indian Wells) and in second round of Wimbledon in 2015.
If he carries the same form in the upcoming U.S. Open Grand Slam, he could give a tough run to the big shots in the Tennis arena.