Champions - Week 2

John Isner made his second final yesterday at the Heineken Open in Auckland. He made his first back in 2007 in the Washington, DC Legg Mason Classic. In that tournament, he had won five consecutive third-set tiebreaks before he lost to Andy Roddick in straight sets in the final. This week, he didn't have to play a single third-set tiebreak until the final against Arnaud Clement. But he almost didn't get there.

Isner was cruising on serve, having taken the first set and serving to get into a second-set tiebreak. That was how he had beaten Albert Montanes in the semis. But Clement is a more accomplished hardcourt player than Montanes was, and his experience started to show. Leading 6-5, Clement did the impossible and broke Isner to take the match to a decisive third set.

In the third, Isner was serving again at 5-6, and he got down a break point, which happened to be a match point. It seemed like the pressure of winning his first title had gotten to him, and Clement might take his first title since 2006. (Oddly enough, Clement's last win came at the DC tournament where Isner made the final a year later) But Isner showed that he is developing and maturing as a player, and he saved the break point with a clutch serve-and-volley play followed by a decisive smash. The way he saved the break point was key, since it wasn't a Clement error or an easy ace. It gave him the confidence to run away with the tiebreak, 7-2. Congrats to the big man.

I was surprised to see that the final in Sydney was nowhere near as exciting. Gasquet could not find his form again, after he had looked flat against Benneteau in the semis. Richard had been playing amazing tennis for the first three rounds, but then he lost his edge. He still managed to beat his countryman, but it wasn't anywhere near enough to beat a fired-up Baghdatis in the final. Gasquet started the match by giving his serve away, and never managed to break Baggy in that set. The match was tighter in the second, after a rain delay, but Gasquet couldn't bring his best in the tiebreak.

This isn't a bad loss for Gasquet, since Baghdatis is a former top-ten player who looks like he's on his way back. This is Gasquet's first final since 2008, but he hasn't won a title since 2007. He needs to be able to get back to that next level, which we know he's capable of doing, in order to be back among the game's elite.

But kudos to Baghdatis, who was able to come back from his exhausting semifinal with Mardy Fish in excellent form. After quite a few years of playing sub-standard tennis, he looks like he's the real deal. I would say that the other players in his section of the draw at the Australian Open should watch out.