by Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
John Isner defeated fellow American Brandon Nakashima, 7-6 (8), 7-5 in just under two hours to win the Truist Atlanta Open singles title for a sixth time. The win for the 36-year-old former University of Georgia star marks his 16th career ATP singles title, which, for perspective for the sometimes overlooked American star, is the same amount of ATP singles titles won by former American tennis stars James Blake and Mardy Fish COMBINED. Blake won 10 singles titles in his ATP career while Fish garnered six singles titles. Since the end of the John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors era of American tennis in 1992, Isner ranks No. 5 among American tennis players as far as ATP singles titles won, trailing only Pete Sampras (64 titles), Andre Agassi (60 titles), Michael Chang (34 titles), Andy Roddick (33 titles) and Jim Courier (23 titles).
With his sixth title in Atlanta, Isner joins Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the only active men’s players to win six or more singles titles at a tour-level event. Isner’s six Atlanta titles are second only to Federer’s seven Cincinnati victories in terms of US Open Series events.
Nakashima, from San Diego, was bidding to become the youngest American singles champion at an ATP event since Andy Roddick in 2002 in Houston. He was also a singles finalist a week earlier in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Coached by Dusan Vemic, Nakashima, who played one season at the University of Virginia before turning pro, spent two weeks training with former USTA Player Development director of coaching Jose Higueras prior to this hard-court swing and is projected to rise to a career-high No. 89 in the world on Monday. Nakashima is the second rising American to reach an ATP singles final in as many US Open Series events thus far in 2021, after 20-year-old Jenson Brooksby reached the final in Newport two weeks ago.
About the US Open Series
The US Open Series serves as a true “regular season” of summer tennis in North America, linking nine WTA and ATP Tour tournaments to the US Open. Featuring a cohesive weekly viewing schedule, as well as comprehensive outreach and grassroots engagement initiatives, the Series serves as a vital platform to promote and grow the game of tennis in person and at home. Fans can follow along all summer as today’s top champions go head-to-head with tomorrow’s emerging stars, while each tournament engages its local community with a variety of programs geared toward showcasing and promoting the game to new and existing fans.
