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Isner knocks off Dancevic in singles final of $50,000 Lubbock Challenger
Isner at the Lubbock Challenger - September, 2008
The future of professional tennis was on display Sunday during the finals of the $50,000 Lubbock Challenger and the competitors didn’t disappoint.
John Isner and Frank Dancevic put on a show during the singles competition, needing a tiebreaking set to decide the winner.
Isner won his first Challenger tournament, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2.
Isner, 23, of Tampa, Fla., came into the tournament ranked No. 142 in the ATP rankings. The 6-foot-9 Isner is the second tallest active tennis player. He turned pro after leading Georgia to an NCAA team title in May 2007, and has appeared in all four grand slams, advancing to the third round in doubles at the French Open.
Dancevic just celebrated his 24th birthday a few days before the finals. The Canadian is fairly well known for his performances in big matches, with wins against Andy Roddick and David Nalbandian. He also has played in all four grand slams and represented his country in the Beijing Olympics. Dancevic is the top Canadian tennis player for his country’s Davis Cup team.
“Congratulations to Johnny. He played some really tough matches this week and he deserves it,” Dancevic said. “My back strain has really been affecting my serve, but I don’t think it would have mattered today. John played very well. I’m hoping to pick up some more points in Sacramento (in the next tournament) and move up in the rankings after having to sit out earlier this year.”
The match was fast paced with each man holding serve throughout the first set. Isner’s very tall frame allows for a devastating service game that had Dancevic frustrated during the set. It ended in a tiebreaker with Isner winning seven of nine points.
The trend of holding serve continued until late in the second set with Isner serving down, 5-4. After overcoming three break points in his previous service game, Dancevic took advantage of the opportunity and broke Isner’s serve to win the set. It was the first break of the afternoon.
Isner returned the favor by breaking Dancevic’s serve in the first game of the third set. That would prove to be the turning point in the match as that seemed to take any momentum away that Dancevic had gathered.
Dancevic had been battling a lingering back strain that he said had been affecting his serve. He was sidelined for four months earlier this year due to the injury.
“I got a new coach just before the U.S. Open and it has really helped. I feel very fit,” said Isner, the third seed in the singles draw.
Dancevic was the fourth seed.
Isner’s only other appearance in the Lubbock Challenger was in 2005, when he qualified for the main draw out of the qualifying tournament.
In doubles action, unseeded Roman Borvanov and Artem Sitak knocked off the top seed – Alex Bogomolov Jr. and Dusan Vemic – 6-2, 6-3.
The duo won the tournament by beating the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 seeds.
The No. 3 seed, Alberto Francis and Nicholas Monroe, lost in the first round to Texas Tech’s Christian Rojmar and Raony Carvalho in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Tagged: lubbock challenger, dancevic, atp
