Big Serving Veteran John Isner Takes Maiden ATP 1000 Title in Miami
Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
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32 year old John Isner had struggled his way through 2018 with just one match win, but in Miami he turned it on, winning six straight to capture the biggest ATP title of his career. A long time battler on the ATP Tour, Isner will return to the top 10 after dispatching Alexander Zverev 6-7 6-4 6-4 in the final, preventing Zverev from taking a third career Masters title.
Isner heated up with early wins against Jiri Vesely, and Mikhail Youzhny, then upset Marin Cilic, Hyeon Chung, and Juan Martin Del Potro in consecutive matches to reach the final. His last three wins prior to the final dominant performances. Zverev ran through a tough road of Daniil Medvedev, David Ferrer, Nick Kyrgios, Borna Coric, and Pablo Carreno Busta, posting a solid week despite a tough finals loss.
With the ATP season switching to clay, Zverev should have more success ahead, while Isner is unlikely to make much of a dent in big events until the hard court Summer, but he’ll still have the memory of the biggest result in his career coming in 2018.
Top seed Roger Federer was upset by Thanasi Kokkinakis early on, as Kokkinakis played up to his potential and got past a fatigued Federer in three sets, never backing down.
The Bryan brothers took the doubles title defeating Russia’s Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in the doubles final for their 37th Masters 1000 title.
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Tennis Atlantic 