John Isner overpowers Dudi Sela to defend Atlanta title
American fires 15 aces to end run of diminutive Israeli who was trying to win for his countrymen
Top seed John Isner claimed the Atlanta Open title for the second successive year with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Israel's Dudi Sela.
The towering world number 12 cracked down 15 aces to end the run of the diminutive Sela, who was playing in his first ATP title for six years.
"This is my favourite time of year," Isner said. "I'm off to a very good start again. I look forward to playing in Washington again [this week]. I've played well there my whole career."
I wanted the win today for my people in Israel. It's not easy the situation over there
Isner's familiar form helped him capture the opening set in 34 minutes as he won 14 of 15 points on his dominant first serve.
Trying to close out the match, Isner fell behind 30-0 in the final game but ripped off three straight aces to clinch the victory. "Right from the very beginning I felt great," Isner said.
"These [hot] conditions favour me quite a bit. I couldn't ask for better conditions."