ATP Number 19: John Isner in 2010
John Isner is one of America’s top rated professional tennis players, and he is currently ranked 19 on the ATP ranking charts. Earlier, he was ranked as America’s Number 2 right behind Andy Roddick. His most acclaimed victories
include his 2009 defeat of Roddick at the US Open, and his Wimbledon match against Nicolas Mahut.
Isner began this year’s campaign at the 2010 Heineken Open, held in Auckland. He was an unseeded player, but he managed to defeat the likes of Guillermo Garcia Lopez with 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2, seventh seed Juan Monaco 5-7, 6-4, 6-3,
eighth seed Albert Montanes 6-2, 7-6(5) and top seed Tommy Robredo 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4. These victories rushed him to his second career ATP title match; the first final that he reached was in Washington in 2007. He saved a championship point in the final of the
event to defeat Arnaud Clement (runner-up for the 2001 Australian Open) in three sets 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(2). The Auckland victory was Isner’s first ATP tour win. He donated five thousand dollars of his winnings for the victims of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.
This, along with his match against Nicolas Mahut, was probably Isner’s best showing of the year. The Isner versus Mahut match is the longest professional match ever played in the history of tennis; it went into five sets and because
of Wimbledon’s no-tiebreaker rule, the last set ran up to 70-68. The match was over eleven hours long.
At the same time, the opening round of Isner’s Wimbledon campaign was also one of his worst matches. The cost of the win, which made tennis history, meant that Isner was no longer fit to compete in the next match. Hence, he was
unable to proceed past the second round. He lost to Mikhail Youzhny in a mediocre match, which was also a major disappointment.
In review, Isner’s 2010 run was a rather successful one. He became a household name after the legendary Wimbledon match, which in some ways represents the turning point of his career. He had put up a strong showing at the Australian
Open, where he bowed out in the fourth round after being defeated by eventual runner-up Andy Murray, and before that match, he won his first ATP title at Auckland. He also reached the title matches at Belgrade and Memphis (he lost both titles to Sam Querrey).
He lost the Atlanta final to compatriot Mardy Fish, but reached the semi finals in Beijing.
John Isner is, at best, an enigma. He can be a challenging player, but also appears so relaxed and carefree that he can be mistaken for lazy. Standing tall at six feet nine inches, his already massive serve becomes even harder
to handle due to the effective angles afforded to him by his height. However, he is not one of the best tennis players – fitness training can benefit him to a certain degree, but even that has its limits. The 25-year-old is a solid player, and his World Number
19 ranking proves that he has the potential to perform well. However, he slowed down after the Mahut match, which suggests that he can churn out statement wins every now and then. However, when it comes to consistency, John Isner still has a long way to go.
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