Johnson had a pair of match points at 6-4 in the deciding tie break but could not see off Isner, who is now into his second straight final after winning the BB&T Atlanta Open last week.
Advertisement
“It was tough. He was playing good at the beginning and I didn’t start well”, said Nishikori.
Cilic broke in the last game of the first set and the second game of the second set and served for the match before Zverev broke back. I’m a little more solid baseline player.
In listing all of Nishikori’s strengths after the match, from his pacing of play to his ability to place the ball with pinpoint precision, it was the latter that Isner said was decisive. “I’ve thrown a lot of pitches the last two weeks”.
“I’ve had good preparation with my coaches coming into this week and I hope to do well”, Nishikori said.
Nishikori, seeking his 10th career title after crowns at Memphis and Barcelona this year, is the first Washington finalist from Asia since Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan in 2002.
“Everything I touched turned to gold in that match”, the 6-foot-4 American said before Sunday’s final.
But Isner said that match was the best he had played this year, the type of performance that does not come around often enough for him.
Isner beat Nishikori this year in a Miami quarter-final in their only career meeting.
The 25-year-old Nishikori will be chasing his third win of the year and and is already assured of moving up a notch to fourth in the world rankings. “I think I was pretty focused to execute those things”. He hit an ace 132 miles per hour down the T after Nishikori earned an advantage on Isner’s serve in the set’s fifth game.
Stephens ended her long wait in her 84th WTA tournament, having been the world’s highest-ranked player without a finals appearance at 35th, six prior semi-final losses including the 2013 Australian Open. I didn’t do it that well because I was playing from behind for the most part, but I didn’t get too rattled and believed in myself. But, as we know, it was Cilic who put on an awesome display of power tennis in New York to capture his first major title. Isner got the better of his compatriot Steve Johnson 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9).
Known for his powerful two-handed backhand, Nishikori also took a quick lead in the final set, breaking Cilic in the opening game.
American Sloane Stephens won the female category, beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkov, 6-1, 6-2. In the break between sets, Nishikori sat dejected with a towel wrapped over his head, as much to dodge the heat as hit reset.
Advertisement
KOHLSCHREIBER WINS ON CLAY: Philipp Kohlschreiber won his sixth career ATP title by rallying to defeat French qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, at the Generali Open in Kitzbuehel, Austria, the final clay-court event of the season.
