TAG | John Isner
Roger Federer avenged his loss to the American, John Isner 7-6 (7), 6-3, who beat him in Davis Cup play, by winning his record fourth BNP Paribas Open title Sunday. Federer won the richest winner’s checks in the tournament’s history by earning $1 million. Isner earned $500,000. Since last year’s U.S. Open, Federer improved to 39-2, with his only losses to No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the Australian Open and the 11th-ranked Isner. Last month, Isner won on the Swiss star’s home turf.
Federer said that he had decided that this year, he wanted to play a bit more. He added that he knew if things went great then he could have a great run in Miami and Indian Wells. He also said that he was a bit surprised that things went that well for him.
In consecutive days at Indian Wells, Federer, who ranked third, avenged both those defeats by putting away Nadal in the rain-delayed semifinals Saturday and then Isner in a final delayed 12 minutes in the first set by raindrops. He felt especially sick during the first three days and had battled a cold most of the two-week tournament.
Friends cheered Federer’s victory. This win tied him with Nadal for most ATP World Tour Masters 1000 career titles at 19. From 2004-06, Federer won three straight titles here and his fourth snapped a tie with Michael Chang and Jimmy Connors.
Isner reached his first Masters 1000 final by beating top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. He had a breakthrough two weeks in the desert. When the latest rankings come out Monday, this assured him of entering the top 10 for the first time at No. 10.
The big-serving American, with his fastest serve clocked at 135 mph actually had three fewer aces than Federer’s seven. Federer went up 4-3 in the second by breaking Isner’s netted backhand volley. He closed out the match on Isner’s forehand that landed in the net. In the tiebreaker, Federer managed a backhand lob over his 6-foot-9 opponent when Isner was serving at 7-all and Isner let it go, with the ball landing on the baseline. Federer won that crucial point and the next to take the set.
Day 5 of the 2010 Wimbledon was very routine, especially for the top players on both the men’s and women’s draws. This was surely one of the quietest days of the tournament so far. Part of it is due to all of the doubles action that’s going on around the grounds.
At the dawn of Day 5, all eyes were still on John Isner, who completed the longest match in tennis history on the previous day. Isner spent more than 11 hours on the court throughout three total days, and won the match 70-68 in the fifth set. However, Isner’s second round match was a whole different story. Isner was scheduled to play the first match of the day on court 5. Mentally and physically exhausted from the previous marathon match, John Isner was dismantled 6-0 6-3 6-2 by Thiemo De Bakker. After the match, John Isner said he would take a break from tennis to get some well deserved rest before playing his next tournament.
On the men’s side, the top players cruised through their third round matches comfortably. Defending champion Roger Federer defeated veteran Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-2 6-4 6-2. Number 3 seed Novak Djokovic took out Albert Montanes 6-1 6-4 6-4. Andy Roddick, last year’s runner up, had a slight stumble in his match against the young German Philipp Kohlschreiber. Roddick lost the second set in a tough tiebreak, but eventually took control of the match and won it in four sets. Tomas Berdych and Paul Henri Mathieu both won tough five set matches.
On the women’s side, the top players also didn’t have any trouble in their third round matches. Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams, and Jelena Jankovic all won in straight sets.
This interesting piece of write-up presents one of the most extraordinary tennis matches that has ever played on any Wimbledon court. In tennis history, Day 3 and Day 4 of 2010 Wimbledon featured one of the most extraordinary matches. For the record books was the first round match between number 23 seed American John Isner and qualifier Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. It actually started on day 2 and it was suspended after the completion of four sets. For the two warriors to complete their match Day 3 was still not enough and it was postponed again, tied at 59-59 in the fifth set. Finally, John Isner won the match 70-68 in the final set, on Day 4. This was a perfect example of what physical fitness and mental toughness in sports is all about.
Over the course of three days, the battle lasted for just over 11 hours, and this became the longest match in tennis history. Over 100 aces were served by Isner and Mahut, which is another new record. The amount of games and points played were also record breaking. There was a small ceremony to honor John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, after the epic marathon match. No one could have imagined that the major headlines of 2010 Wimbledon and of the year would happen on court 18.This epic battle also provided the sports betting fans some US Open tips, the tournament which will get under way a few months down the line.
As the Queen of England visited Wimbledon for the first time since 1977, Day 4 featured another historic moment. The Queen was greeted by both the Wimbledon Champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams. She also enjoyed a great display on Centre Court from fellow Brit Andy Murray, who won his second round match in straight sets. On the men’s side, another interesting match was between Rafael Nadal and Robin Haase. Nadal was really challenged, but he eventually prevailed in the fifth set, wining it 6-3.
