Fish outlasts Isner to capture first ATC event
Arms raised and back arched, Mardy Fish took in the moment. The sun beat down and the applause washed over Fish. He had just survived a mettle-testing victory over John Isner in the Atlanta Tennis Championships final.
Exhausted, he lay flat on his back. Said Fish, "The first thing I thought was, ‘Man, it's really hot on the court.' I mean, it was hot."
It was a fitting ending to the week as professional tennis returned to Atlanta for the first time since 2001. Sizzling temperatures, enthusiastic crowds and, in the end, the superior play of Fish defined the inaugural ATC.
Fish outlasted Isner, taking him 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in a match that lasted two hours, 45 minutes on a day when the heat index reached as high as 103 degrees. The court surface upon which Fish roasted himself was measured by ESPN thermometers at 154 degrees.
"I don't think I've ever played in conditions this hot and humid and rough like this," Isner said.
Fish continued a run nearly as hot as the weather. He has now won consecutive tournaments (the other was Newport, R.I., earlier in the month) and 16 of his last 18 matches. To take the ATC, he knocked off the two highest-ranked Americans, No. 9 Andy Roddick in the semis and No. 19 Isner in the final, in less than 24 hours.
In his 11th year on tour, he had never won two world-tour events in the same year until Sunday. Fish is among the most intriguing players to watch as the U.S. Open approaches.
Fish underwent knee surgery to repair cartilage damage at the end of last summer and, at 27, dedicated himself to maximizing the remaining years of his career.
He cut pizza and burgers out of his diet and worked to improve his fitness level. His weight went from 203 pounds to 170. Since coming back in January, Fish is 28-11. Besides Roddick and Isner, he has defeated world No. 4 Andy Murray twice. This week, he didn't drop a set until the final.
Across the court, Isner likewise battled gamely, the Georgia grad's will revealed for all to see.
Including doubles, Isner played six matches this week that lasted a combined 11 hours, 16 minutes, which, coincidentally, is only 11 minutes longer than his Wimbledon marathon.
Most of those hours were played in the heat of the day, including Sunday's final that began at 3 p.m.
Said Isner, "We were both just scrapping it out out there."
When the ATP tour rankings come out Monday, Fish will move from No. 49 to about No. 36.
"I think he looked himself in the mirror and said, ‘You know, I'm not done yet, I've got a lot left in me,'" Stacey Gardner, Fish's wife, said Sunday. "He really wanted it and being healthy and being more fit allows him to play a different style of play that he's never played before.'"
His fitness pulled him through Sunday in the sauna that was the Atlanta Athletic Club stadium court.
"A year ago, I would have fallen over in the second set probably, or probably played a match to where I knew physically I couldn’t last, so I (would) need to change my tactics," Fish said. "I just simply don't have to do that anymore."