Return Winners: A look back at the 2010 Auckland final

Unseeded players John Isner and Arnaud Clement faced off in an unexpected final in the prelude to the Australian Open.

The Result:

John Isner def. Arnaud Clement 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (2)

The Setting:

Success came fairly quickly for 24-year-old John Isner as a professional: In only his second tournament at the ATP level, he made the final of the tournament in Washington in 2007. But just as quickly as it came, it seemingly disappeared, as the next two years were a series of ups and downs. By the second half of 2009, though, things started to click for Isner and he was named the ATP’s Most Improved Player by year's end.

By the end of 2009, Arnaud Clement—a former Australian Open finalist—was looking as if his best days were behind him. At the US Open, he was forced to play in the qualifying tournament and lost in the first round.

When the 2010 season came around, the two were heading in opposite directions. At the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand, though, they showed what they were capable of, taking out six of the eight seeds on the way to the final.

The Final:

Isner and Clement had met once before, in the first round of qualifying in Sydney in 2008, with Isner winning in straight sets. His sets-won streak continued in the Auckland final as he took the first 6-3. However, Clement secured a break late to win the set, 7-5. After swapping breaks of serve early, the two forced a tiebreak—but not without some drama along the way. Isner managed to fight off a match point against Clement, and when it got to the breaker, the American ran away with it to clinch his first ever career title.

'07

Before they met in Auckland, the last time either player had reached a final was in 2007: Isner lost in Washington to Andy Roddick, while Clement was defeated in the Nottingham by Ivo Karlovic.

1

On his way to the title, Isner went three sets in all of his matches, only pocketing one straight-set win in his semifinal encounter against Albert Montanes.