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1/15/10 3:49 PM | Ricky Dimon
John Isner and Arnaud Clement will sqaure off in the final of the Heineken Open on Saturday afternoon. Isner is looking for his first career ATP title while Clement is seeking his first title since 2006.
John Isner and Arnaud Clement have been a two-man wrecking crew this week in Auckland. It is only fitting that they should meet for the title of the Heineken Open on Saturday afternoon.
Isner and Clement, who have never faced each other, booted six of the eight seeds out of the tournament. After dispatching Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Isner beat No. 7 seed Juan Monaco, No. 1 Tommy Robredo, and No. 8 Albert Montanes. Clement defeated Jeremy Chardy before dismissing No. 2 David Ferrer, No. 6 Jurgen Melzer, and No. 5 Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The other two seeded players--Juan Carlos Ferrero and Nicolas Almagro--lost their opening matches. Ferrero retired with an ankle injury against Michael Lammer and Almagro got blown out by Marc Gicquel.
What's left is an all-unseeded showdown between two scorching hot players.
Isner is picking up right where he left off in what was a breakout 2009 campaign. The 6'9'' American reached the semifinals of the Legg Mason Classic and stunned Andy Roddick in a fifth-set tiebreaker en route to the fourth round of the U.S. Open. Isner is up to a career-high ranking of No. 33 in the world, and he is only going higher after this week.
Clement, eight years older than Isner at 32, is still flying high in the latter stages of his career. The veteran Frenchman fell to No. 143 at one point last season, but he has climbed to 67th in the rankings thanks to a stellar end to the past year. Clement upset countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on his way to the Lyon semifinals then made it to the third round of the Paris Masters as a qualifier.
"I play better and better every day," Clement said after beating Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6(2). "So I hope I will play better tomorrow also.
"(Isner) is a very good player. He has a fantastic serve, but he is also playing well on the baseline now. He is a good fighter and I think he can beat anyone on the tour when he is playing his best. It will be hard for me to beat him, but if I play like I played today, I think I have a chance."
Clement certainly has a chance, but Isner has a slight edge in both current form and on an outdoor hard court. If he serves like has been all week, Isner should be able to pull out a three-set win for his first ATP title.
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They are some seriously fun pictures. Thanks for the tip Ricky. :)
derstatic , 1/15/10 6:25 PM
Well that was lots of fun.
smr , 1/16/10 5:25 AM
what a match
RickyDimon , 1/16/10 5:48 AM
recap -http://www.tennistalk.com/en/match_report/Heineken_Open/2010/John_Isn er_-_Arnaud_Clement
RickyDimon , 1/16/10 6:11 AM
John Isner
Arnaud Clement
Heineken Open
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some interesting pre-match notes:
Isner is more than a FOOT taller than Clement (6'9'' to 5'8'')
however its NOT the biggest all-time size difference in an ATP final. Clement played Ivo Karlovic (6'10'') in the 2007 Nottingham final (and I strongly encourage you to check out the pictures from the trophy ceremony of that match).
RickyDimon , 1/15/10 4:39 PM