Every time John Isner thought he had Mardy Fish, Fish fought back.
Fish overcame double-match point in the second set and double-break point in the third set to defeat Isner 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2 for the second consecutive year in the finals of the Atlanta Tennis Championships on Sunday.
It wasn't always pretty tennis at the Racquet Club of the South, but Fish used every shot he had to wear down the former Georgia star in front of a crowd that was either woofing for Isner or panting because of the heat.
"It feels great to win here again and to start off the summer like I did last year," Fish said.
Though the temperature hit 130 degrees on the Stadium Court before the finals, Fish said it wasn't even close to last year's oven at the Atlanta Athletic Club. It's Fish's first title since last year's ATC and the sixth of his career. Isner has won two titles but has lost five championship matches – two to Sam Querrey, one to Andy Roddick and now two to Fish. Isner won the Newport, R.I. tournament two weeks ago and was attempting to win back-to-back titles for the first time. He said this one stings because he was serving for the match.
"You can't ask for much more than that," he said. "It definitely hurts. I really wish I could have won this title, it just wasn't to be."
Fish trailed the decisive second-set tiebreaker 5-1 when he decided to approach like he was the one with nothing to lose. He sawed three consecutive points off Isner's lead, cutting it to 5-4. Isner rebounded on the next point with a forehand deep into the corner that Fish could do nothing with to set up championship point. Isner coughed up the first match point by hitting a backhand long. Trailing 6-5, Fish slammed a service winner down the middle to tie it 6-6 and then showed his touch on the next point with a delicate drop shot to take a 7-6 lead. Isner hit the set-point forehand wide.
"When you're in that position and it's almost over I was lucky to get out of it," Fish said. "I played some good points. I stuck some returns and put balls in play. I played some good points from then on."
As the stadium began to look like a butterfly hut because of all the fans being waved, Fish seemed to get stronger and Isner weakened. He said he had an upset stomach during the day and didn't eat anything during the match. Water was the only thing that didn't affect him.
"I ran out of gas in the third set," Isner said. "I didn't feel my best. Maybe it was the heat. I don't know what it was but it was the difference in the third set."
Fish broke Isner in the first game. He finished the second game with two service winners and an ace to go ahead 2-0. Leading 3-2, Fish fought off double-break point to take a 4-2 lead. Isner practically gift-wrapped the championship with two doublefaults, including one on the final point that gave Fish a 5-2 lead. Fish finished the match on his serve with a forehand into the left corner.
Fish said he hopes this begins another summer like last year's, in which he began his steady climb to the No. 9 world ranking. He said he wants to stay in the top 10 for as long as he can. This win will help.
"I've never defended a title, so it's another milestone for me," Fish said.
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