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Isner and Hewitt in Newport final

NEWPORT, R.I. — John Isner will set out to defend his title at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships tomorrow, while Australian Lleyton Hewitt aims for his 29th ATP World Tour title from the other side of the net. The match will be the third meeting of the two players, with Lleyton having won all three past encounters.

To get to tomorrow’s final, Hewitt defeated Newport’s 2009 champion Rajeev Ram today, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. He is 7-0 in grass-court finals, with his latest triumph coming in the 2010 Gerry Weber Open title match over Roger Federer in Halle.

In today’s second semifinal, John Isner served up 11 aces and overcame compatriot Ryan Harrison, 7-6(4), 6-3. Of his week in Newport, Isner commented, “It’s feeling very similar to last year. I wasn’t playing well and I was ranked in the 40s when I came here last year. I desperately needed some wins and confidence, and that’s exactly what I got. This year, it’s pretty much the same, although I’m ranked a lot higher than 46th. I didn’t play well in Europe. It’s as simple as that. I’m always most comfortable in the U.S., which is something I need to work on. This is where I play well the most.”

In doubles action, the British Olympic team of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins defeated Treat Conrad Huey and Dominic Inglot, and will face Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky in tomorrow’s final.

Before today’s tournament play got underway, a sell-out crowd of enthusiastic fans gathered to be part of the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for the Class of 2012. Scroll below for some photos!

Tomorrow’s tennis gets started at 10 a.m. with the Hall of Fame Classic Exhibition Match, featuring new Hall of Famer Guga Kuerten, former world top-10 player Todd Martin, and other tennis greats.

RESULTS - Saturday, July 14 2012 Click here for a downloadable PDF of the draw. Singles - Semifinals [1] J Isner (USA) d [6] [WC] R Harrison (USA) 76(4) 63 [WC] L Hewitt (AUS) d R Ram (USA) 64 57 62

Doubles - Semifinals [2] C Fleming (GBR) / R Hutchins (GBR) d T Huey (PHI) / D Inglot (GBR) 76(4) 64

ORDER OF PLAY - Sunday, July 14, 2012 Click here for a downloadable PDF of the Order of Play. Starting at 2:00 PM [1] J Isner (USA) vs [WC] L Hewitt (AUS) [3] S Gonzalez (MEX) / S Lipsky (USA) vs [2] C Fleming (GBR) / R Hutchins (GBR)

Posted on July 14, 2012
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