John Isner captured his third title in Newport on Sunday, beating first-time finalist Matthew Ebden 6-3, 7-6(4) for the Dell Technologies Hall Of Fame Open crown. The American adds to his 2011 (d. Rochus) and 2012 (d. Hewitt) titles in the Rhode Island city as he claims the 11th title of his career, all at the ATP World Tour 250 level.
“It’s hard to win a tournament. It’s no small feat to come out here and be the last man standing. I’m very happy about that,” said Isner, who is expected to return to the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday. “It’s been two years since I won a tournament, so I had that weighing on my mind.
“I’m very happy with how I played all week. It was a perfect week and I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Isner broke Ebden on his first service game for a 2-0 lead and carried that momentum to capturing the first set after 25 minutes. The 29-year-old Perth native pushed harder in the second set, taking the American to a tie-break, but the match went the right way for Isner, who sealed victory after 74 minutes. The North Carolina native became the second player to win an ATP title without facing a break point since records began in 1991 (also Tommy Haas in Memphis 2007).
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Isner, who improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head against the Aussie to 3-0, took home $95,495 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points. The American is now 11-12 in tour-level finals.
Ebden, who entered the tournament ranked No. 249 and played his way through qualifying to reach his first tour-level final, earned $50,295 and 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points.
“I’m not that tired to be honest. I definitely didn’t lose because of anything physical, which is great,” said Ebden, who was the lowest-ranked finalist since No. 866 Sluiter at 2009’s ’s-Hertogenbosch. “It’s a lot of reward for a lot of hard work, a lot of years of sacrifice. It’s disappointing, but at the same time I have to be happy with my week.”