John Isner hasn't won a single match since February, but he got it done at the Newport Open, beating Alex Bolt in three sets.
It's been a very poor year for John Isner who only won 4 matches before this event and all of them happened in his backyard in Dallas. The American has been a longtime Dallas resident which makes him very familiar with the conditions and facilities.
He played a great event in February getting to the final and losing to Yibing Wu who became the first Chinese player ever to win an ATP trophy. Since then, Isner played seven matches and lost all seven of them. He lost to Yibing Wu in Dallas, Taylor Fritz in Acapulco, Brandon Nakashima in Indian Wells, Emilio Nava in Miami, Gijs Brouwer in Houston, Nuno Borges in Paris, and Jaume Munar at Wimbledon.
Now, at the Newport Open, Isner finally earned his 5th win of the year and first outside of the Dallas Open from earlier this year. His record before the event was 4-9, which isn't really ideal. Some have speculated that this is likely Isner's final year on the ATP Tour. It's possible though he doesn't seem ready.
The match itself was a good one for the American. He faced an experienced player who likes to play on grass and outplayed him. The first set went his way 6-4 after he cruised through his service games and broke Bolt once.
The Australian really struggled with his serve in this set but improved in the second. It was Isner who struggled in the second set, getting broken twice, which is pretty unheard of on grass. The Australian, though couldn't hold the level in the final set, losing 3-6.
A pretty good win for Isner who had 20 aces in this one allowing break points only in the second set.
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