John Isner is back. The tall 6’10 American had been suffering a rather indifferent season to date. He set that right by picking up his first title of the year in Newport last week. This week added his fourth Atlanta crown in five years. He defeated fellow American Ryan Harrison 7-6, 7-6.
The first set was a quick affair as neither man created a break point opportunity, and a total of 16 aces being struck. Isner won a close tiebreak 8-6 to take the lead.
Breaks of serve were unsurprisingly few and far between, with just the two in the match. They both came in the set as the pair traded breaks. Harrison in particular may feel annoyed that having broken the Isner serve that he was unable to hold on to his own. Harrison took an early advantage in the tiebreak but was pegged back, and Isner took the title extending his impressive tiebreak success rate.
The win for Isner ensures he is on an eight match winning streak dating back to his Newport title win. He is also on an eight match streak of having not dropped a set. The tall American did lose a set in Newport or this week in Atlanta.
Isner, ranked 20 coming into the week, will move back into the Top 20 as a result of the win. Harrison, despite losing the final, will likely move to a new career high ranking. He is ranked at 42, just two removed from his previous best of 40.
Isner is ninth seed in Washington next week and will play either Dudi Sela or Jared Donaldson after a first round bye. Harrison is seeded 16th and will play the winner of qualifier Edam Leshem and Marcos Baghdatis.
It has proven to be a very successful season for Americans in 2017. Seven ATP titles have been claimed by Americans, shared amongst five players. Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison, and Steve Johnson have all won titles, whilst Jack Sock and now John Isner have both sealed two each.
