John Isner plays former NBA star Tom Gugliotta during Atlanta Tennis Championships – Tennis News
During the Atlanta Tennis Championships John Isner finally found someone of his own height to play with, when he played a friendly match of tennis against the former NBA and Atlanta Hawks star Tom Gugliotta.
During the years that Isner spent growing up at North Carolina State, he saw Gugliotta as one of his favourite players. Although this was the first time the two were meeting both found it a great opportunity to play against each
other on their own territories.
After they had warmed up, the two played tennis first and in spite of Isner having one of the fastest serves in the world the NBA star had some experience on the court as he played weekly at a club in Atlanta for cross-training
during his NBA days and thus he wasn’t to give up easily. He managed to put first few returns in play and hit a perfect backhand passing the shot down the line. He then hit a ball that rolled off the net cord to go up 30-15 in the game. The pressure was building
on Isner and he needed to get back in the game and therefore, decided to turn a notch up on his service speed, he then managed to get a hold of the game and after rallying it out with Tom, in the end Isner won the few sets that they played.
Following the match Isner was impressed by Gugliotta’s game and although he himself was having a dilly day he considered his friendly opponent’s one handed backhand to be a “major weapon”
After losing the match, Gugliotta was geared up to avenge his loss as the two then played basketball. This time it was Gugliotta who was one fire! The two had decided to play a modified version of “PIG” using “ATL”. Initially the
two found it hard to shoot from a distance but being an NBA star he was well in form to do so. Tom jumped out to a quick “A-T” lead and although Isner had some practice in school days and responded by hitting a few shots to keep the competition alive, he
missed his final shot giving Gugliotta an “A-T-L” victory.
Ensuingly, they were laughing and enjoying throughout the two events and at the end, both the players were happy to have won in their own domains and to put up a dexterous show.
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