Winston-Salem Open Tennis 2012: John Isner Defends His Title

John Isner Beats Tomas Berdych In Third-Set Tiebreaker To Win Winston-Salem Open

John Isner secured his second ATP title of the season Saturday, defeating world No. 7 Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (11-9) at the Winston-Salem Open. Isner, the 10th-ranked player in the world, is famous for his powerful serve and used 22 aces and a stunning first-serve rate of 70 percent to overtake Berdych, who is by all accounts the more polished player.

Isner didn't play his best tennis, but with his serve landing at that rate, there isn't much to be done. He capitalized on his only break point of the match in the second set and clinched the tiebreaker on Berdych's serve. Other than that, Isner had a bad return day.

Isner defended his 2011 Winston-Salem title, when he defeated Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the final, a far easier opponent than Berdych. The 27-year-old American will, without a disastrous end of the season, finish the year in the ATP's Top 10 for the first time in his career. This is the perfect warm-up for Isner -- who was born in nearby Greensboro, N.C. -- before the U.S. Open in Queens, N.Y., where he's expected to go the deepest of any American male.

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2012 Winston-Salem Open: John Isner Faces Tomas Berdych In The Final

The 2012 Winston-Salem Open will come to a conclusion Saturday with the singles final between No. 3 seed John Isner and No. 2 seed Tomas Berdych.

Isner, the defending Winston-Salem Open champion, knocked off No. 1 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 on Friday. Isner's title defense hasn't been easy at times as his match against Tsonga was the second time he's been pushed to three sets during the tournament. He also needed three sets to defeat Martin Klizan in the second round.

Berdych didn't have as tough a time in the semifinals as he defeated No. 7 seed Sam Querrey in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. Berdych has dropped just one set during his four matches in the tournament.

Saturday's match will be the fourth time Isner and Berdych have faced each other. Berdych won two of the previous three matches, including their last meeting at the 2010 French Open.

Center Court, 12:30 p.m. ET

No. 2 Tomas Berdych vs. No. 3 John Isner.

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Winston-Salem Open 2012 Daily Recap: Defending Champion John Isner Advances To Finals

American John Isner is in position to win his second straight Winston-Salem Open after defeating top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to advance to the tournament's final. Isner, the third seed, defeated Tsonga 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, with the third set ending after Isner won a tiebreak 7-3.

Isner, a native of North Carolina, will face second-seeded Tomas Berdych, who hails from the Czech Republic. Berdych defeated seventh-seeded Sam Querrey in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Querrey's serve was dominant on Friday as he aced Berdych 18 times, but it was still not enough to win either set.

Isner and Berdych have faced each other three times in their careers. Since 2009, Berdych is 2-1 vs. Isner, with the most recent victory coming in the 2010 French Open. In that match, Berdych swept Isner in straight sets. Isner's lone victory came in 2010, at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

2012 Winston-Salem Open: Tsonga Takes On Isner In Friday Semifinal Action

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga may have quickly dispatched of Spain's No. 6 Marcel Granollers on Thursday, but Friday will see Tsonga face a more severe test — against John Isner in Winston-Salem Open semifinal action.

Isner took care of Belgium's David Goffin in Thursday night's quarterfinal, 7-6, (7-5), 6-3, and the lanky, heavy-serving American will likely prove Tsonga's toughest matchup thus far in the tourney. Tsonga has yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Isner has had a tough road to the semifinals, going three sets in the second round against Slovakian Martin Klizan before dispatching Austria's Jurgen Meltzer in straight sets in the third round, 6-4, 6-3.

The other semifinal will see American Sam Querrey take on Thomaz Berdych. Berdych survived dropping the first set to unranked Steven Darcis on Thursday and reeled off two straight sets to beat the Belgian 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Querrey had his own tough road to the semifinal, besting the Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3).

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Winston-Salem Open 2012 Daily Recap: Jo-Wilifried Tsonga, John Isner Among Quarterfinal Winners

Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilifried Tsonga, Sam Querrey and John Isner were all winners in the quarterfinal round of the Winston-Salem Open on Thursday. Tsonga was the only player to win in straight sets, defeating Marcel Granollers, 6-1, 6-2.

The day began with Berdych facing Steve Darcis. Berdych had struggled recently, having dropped five of his last seven matches coming into the tournament. He'd been a consistent player until this summer, when he was ousted in the first round of both Wimbledon and the London Olympics. But after dropping the first set to Darcis, Berdych came back to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Querrey also won in three sets against Alexandr Dolgopolov and Isner ended the day's action with a three-set victory against David Goffin.

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2012 Winston-Salem Open Daily Match Preview: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, John Isner Look To Advance To Semis

The Winston-Salem Open continues Thursday with quarterfinal action at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.

Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will look to advance to the semifinals for a potential match with defending champion and No. 3 John Isner, but must first get past No. 6 Marcel Granollers of Spain.

Isner, meanwhile, will be matched up against Belgium's David Goffin.

Other quarterfinal matches include No. 7 Sam Querrey against No. 4 Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Steve Darcis against No. 2 seed Tomas Berdych.

While not a big-name event to casual tennis fans, the Winston-Salem Open is an important tournament for players preparing for the U.S. Open. It's the final hard-court tournament before tennis' fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year.

This year, three of the top 10 players in the world and 24 of the top 50 have been or are still competing as a means to get ready for Flushing Meadows.

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2012 Winston-Salem Open: John Isner Advances, Andy Roddick Does Not

Third-round play at the 2012 Winston-Salem Open continued Wednesday, with No. 3 seed John Isner advancing despite enduring two rain delays. The defending Winston-Salem champion needed only 71 minutes of actual match time to defeat No. 13 Jurgen Melzer in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.

Fellow American Andy Roddick, the tournament's No. 5 seed, was the only seeded player to lose Wednesday and fail to move into the quarterfinals, as he was downed by unseeded Steve Darcis, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-3).

Other notable winners included top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 2 Tomas Berdych, No. 4 Alexandr Dolgopolov, No. 6 Marcel Granollers and No. 7 Sam Querrey.

While not a big-name event to casual tennis fans, the Winston-Salem Open is an important tournament for players preparing for the U.S. Open, as it's the final hard-court tournament before tennis' fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year.

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2012 Winston-Salem Open: Top-Seeded Tsonga, Roddick In Action

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga looks to live up to his top seed at this week's Winston-Salem Open on Wednesday as he takes on Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky in round-of-16 action from North Carolina.

Tsonga easily took care of Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci in the first round, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), and looks to continue to cruise into the next round Wednesday. Marcel Granollers-Pujol, who took care of business against American Ryan Harrison on Tuesday night, is the highest-ranked opponent Tsonga could face in his quarter of the draw.

Andy Roddick will also hit the court Wednesday, taking on Belgium's Steve Darcis, who upset 11th-seeded Dennis Istomin in the second round, 6-2, 6-2. Roddick topped fellow American James Blake in the second round in two hard-fought tiebreakers, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (8-6).

Roddick could face No. 2-seeded Tomas Berdych, who shares Roddick's quarter in the tournament.

American Sam Querrey will face a tough test in Spain's Feliciano Lopez in today's action.

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Winston-Salem Open 2012 Daily Recap: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Advances Along With Other Top Seeds

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lived up to his top seed in the 2012 Winston-Salem Open on Tuesday night by beating Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) to advance to the third round of the ATP tournament.

Tsonga, currently the No. 6-ranked player in the world, will face Ukranian qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky in the third round. Stakhovsky advanced by knocking off 15th-seeded Pablo Andujar of Spain, 6-2 6-3.

All four of the top seeds in the tournament survived the second round, including second seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Berdych smacked 15 aces on his way to a 6-3, 7-5 win over Alex Bogomolov Jr.

Third-seed John Isner of the U.S. rallied to avoid an upset and beat Slovak Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a match that lasted more than two hours. Meanwhile, fourth-seed Alexandr Dolgopolov made quick work of Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu, winning the match 6-1, 6-3 in just one hour.

Play continues Wednesday with the third round in the final hard-court tournament before the U.S. Open.

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2012 Winston-Salem Open Daily Match Preview: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, John Isner Highlight Tuesday's Action

Some big names begin play at the 2012 Winston-Salem Open in the second round on Tuesday.

The singles second round and doubles first round continue at Wake Forest on Tuesday, and top-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 3-seeded American John Isner are two notable singles names to highlight the day after earning byes past the first round. With several of the game's top players not competing, the tournament is wide open for the next tier of players to score a tournament title.

Tsonga will face Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, while Isner will take on Slovakian Martin Klizan. Other otable matches include No. 2-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych against Russian Alex Bogomolov Jr. and No. 4-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov against Taiwanese Yen-Hsun Lu.

Play it set to begin at noon and continue at 7 p.m.

The tournament won't be televised until the singles quarterfinals begin on Thursday, but you can keep track all of the action on the tournament's official website.

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Winston-Salem Open 2012 Daily Recap: Andy Roddick Defeats James Blake

Andy Roddick defeated fellow American James Blake in the most notable match in the second round of the Winston-Salem Open on Monday.

Roddick overcame a tough start and downed Blake 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (8-6). Roddick had 11 aces to move to 9-3 against Blake in his career. Roddick admitted afterward he was fortunate to earn the win while not on top of his game and after Blake came out to a hot start.

Elsewhere in the tournament, David Goffin rallied against No. 10-ranked Viktor Troicki for a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 upset win. No. 7-ranked Sam Querrey won his first set against Santiago Giraldo 6-3 before the match was suspended due to rain. In a first-round match, American Donald Young rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Leonardo Mayer.

Play begins again tomorrow at noon EST, with the full schedule available here.

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2012 Winston-Salem Open Daily Match Preview: Andy Roddick Battles Fellow American James Blake

Following Sunday's half slate of matches, the 2012 Winston- Salem Open continues Monday at 12 p.m. EST at Wake Forest University.

Tennis fans will be treated to both singles and doubles action after just six first-round single matches took place Sunday. Some of the more notable matches include a battle of the Americans with Andy Roddick taking on James Blake at 7 p.m. EDT, and Viktor Troicki facing off against Belgium's David Goffin at noon on Court 2. The field is still quite wide open with much of the world's top players not competing.

On the doubles end, the draw of 16 teams begins with two matches including Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky facing off against Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins in the third match on Court 3 in the early round of games, beginning at noon.

Play won't be televised until the singles quarterfinals begins on Thursday but you can keep track all of the action on the tournament's official website.

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Winston-Salem Open 2012 Daily Recap: American James Blake Advances In Straight Sets

With the qualifying final round concluding earlier in the day, the first round of singles finally got underway Sunday for the 2012 Winston-Salem Open with six matches taking place.

James Blake looked sharp to get things started as he beat Spain's Albert Ramos 6-4, 6-3 with seven aces Sunday night. Blake now advances to take on the fifth-seeded Andy Roddick in a second-round matchup of the Americans.

Belgium's David Goffin topped France's Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (3), 6-1 while Steve Darcis won the battle of over his fellow countryman Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-0. Columbia's Santiago Giraldo also beat out Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 to advance to the next round.

Russia's Alex Bogomolov Jr. (6-2, 6-2) and America's Ryan Harrison (6-3, 7-5) also won in straight sets on the outdoor hard courts over their respective opponents.

Play begins again tomorrow at 12 p.m. EST time with the full schedule available here.

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2012 Winston-Salem Open: Daily Match Preview, TV Info And More

While Andy Roddick, Jo Wilfried Tsonga and John Isner are the big names of the Winston-Salem Open, the tournament is actually wide open. Sunday begins the main draw with Saturday's qualifying rounds almost completed. Action begins at noon.

The main draw in singles competition is 48 players, including four of the qualifiers. In doubles, the draw is 16 teams. First round singles action will last until Monday, when doubles first round play begins. The tournament won't be televised until Thursday, when the singles quarterfinals get started.

Isner, the defending champion, is hoping to still be a part of the field by then, but again, it's a wide open field without the world's top players there. Not much is expected of Roddick these days, but he could throw a wrinkle in Isner's plans to repeat, too.

World No. 21 Alexandr Dolgopolov from Ukraine is a rising young player who fans will want to keep an eye on this week. Check out the tournament's official site for more information.

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Winston-Salem Open Tennis 2012: John Isner, Andy Roddick Highlight Field

The 2012 Winston-Salem Open gets underway with qualifying Saturday. John Isner, Andy Roddick and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga highlight the main draw.