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Return Winners: The 2012 Newport final

John Isner and Lleyton Hewitt faced off on a grass court for the first time.

ByVan Sias

Published Jul 20, 2019

John Isner and Lleyton Hewitt squared off in the 2012 Newport final.

Davis Cup heroics, a first Masters 1000 final and Top-10 breakthrough made the first half of 2012 already a year to remember for Isner.

However, at the French Open and Wimbledon, the American suffered early-round five-set losses in both events. As he got ready to kick off the second half of the season still in search of a title for the year, he made his return to the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, RI, where he was the defending champion.

Once again, the top seed advanced to the final, where he would face two-time Grand Slam champion Hewitt. The former world No. 1 was down to 233 in the world after career-threatening injuries stunted his results. Reaching his first final in two years, the Australian battled through three-setters in two of his first four matches.

Going into the championship match, Hewitt had a 2-0 record against Isner, with those wins coming on hard and clay courts. While Isner seemingly possessed weapons that could overpower nearly any opponent on grass, Hewitt entered this contest with a 7-0 record in finals on the surface, including a win at Wimbledon in 2002.

In the first set, the two stayed on even ground throughout the first 12 games. In the ensuing tiebreak, Isner got an early mini-break and rolled from there, taking it 7-1.

Cracking aces and unreturnable serves all week, Isner could feel confident in knowing a lone break was all the advantage he would need. The American secured one on Hewitt’s serve in the third game and never looked back, winning the second set 6-4 to clinch his first title of the year.

1

Over the course of his back-to-back wins at the tournament, Isner dropped only one set, losing one against Sergei Bubka in the 2012 first round.

3

Isner’s third final of the year came on a third different surfaces: He reached the final in Indian Wells on hard courts and the U.S. Clay Court championships on the dirt.

42

This was Hewitt’s 42nd career singles final with the loss dropping his record to 28-14 in such matches. By comparison, this was only Isner’s 11th.

Follow Van on Twitter: @Van_Sias