Isner Beats Benneteau To Win Title

© Susan Mullane/Camerawork USAJohn Isner now has a 3-5 record in ATP World Tour finals.

Fourth seed John Isner, who grew up in nearby Greensboro, lifted the third ATP World Tour title of his career on Saturday in front of his family and friends at the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University.

Isner recorded a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over French qualifier Julien Benneteau to improve to a 3-5 mark in ATP World Tour finals.

The 26-year-old American earned $74,630 in prize money and received 250 South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings points. Benneteau, who is now 0-5 in finals, picked up $42,500 and 150 points.

"It means a lot for sure to win," said Isner. "Any time you win a tournament at this level, it is a huge accomplishment. For me personally, it is great, to win here in virtually my hometown. I think this is perfect preparation for me heading up north."

World No. 113 Benneteau did not face a break point in the first set, winning 20 of his 23 service points. He broke Isner's serve to 30 at 4-4 and went onto wrap up the opener in 34 minutes.

Isner responded by hitting six aces and dropping nine points to win the 43-minute second set. It meant Benneteau, who lost his serve at 3-4 in a closely fought game, would play his fourth straight three-set match of the week.

Isner converted his second of two break point opportunities at 2-2 and maintained the advantage to seal victory in just over two hours. Both players won 72 per cent of their service points, but Isner hit 19 aces in total to Benneteau's six.

"He was handling the wind better than me the first set and a half," admitted Isner. "He was making a lot of balls. A lot of times in the wind you have to play to a big margin in the court and not to the lines. I was trying to hit the lines too much. You really have to be on top of your footwork as the ball is moving every which way.

"I started to make more balls and be more aggressive in the second set. I told myself to get my intensity up, move ahead in his return games. If I am holding my serves easily, then to get ahead in my opponents' service games puts them under pressure."

Benneteau was attempting to become the ninth first-time winner on the ATP World Tour this season, the oldest of the nine at 29 years of age, and also the first qualifier to lift a trophy since Sergiy Stakhovsky at the St. Petersburg Open in November 2009.

"I’m disappointed losing in the final. For me it’s tough," said Benneteau. "But, as my coach said, if I had been told last Saturday morning when I played my first-round qualifying, that I would make the final, I would have signed up for it for sure. So I have to take the positives from the week, the way I played and the level I had in some matches. I was very close to my best level.

"He has a huge first and second serve; it’s very difficult to read," continued the Frenchman. "I tried to do my best when I was on the ball, not make a lot of mistakes of the return, just put the ball in play and then try to do something. But obviously it’s very difficult."

World No. 28 Isner improves to a 28-18 match record on the season by picking up his second ATP World Tour title in six weeks. The American has now won 17 of his past 21 matches, including his title success at the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, immediately after The Championships at Wimbledon.

Benneteau, appearing in a final on U.S. soil for the first time, last contested a final at the Open 13 in Marseille in February 2010 (l. to Llodra). He drops to a 16-17 season mark.