John Isner

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John Isner
Country Flag of the United States United States
Residence Tampa, Florida USA
Date of birth April 26, 1985 (1985-04-26) (age 23)
Place of birth Greensboro, NC, USA
Height 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
Weight 108 kg (240 lb)
Turned Pro 2007
Plays Right-handed
Career Prize Money $186,691
Singles
Career record: 10 - 7
Career titles: 0
Highest ranking: No. 81 (April 14, 2008)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open 1st (2008)
French Open 1st (2008)
Wimbledon -
US Open 3rd (2007)
Doubles
Career record: 2 - 8
Career titles: 0
Highest ranking: No. 87 (March 24, 2008)

Infobox last updated on: March 30, 2008.

John Isner (born April 26, 1985, in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of # 81 on April 14, 2008.

Contents

[edit] College career

Isner had a highly successful college career at the University of Georgia from 2003 to 2007. As a freshman, he was runner-up for the NCAA doubles title before winning it as a sophomore. He led Georgia to the status of team runner-up in the NCAA championship in 2006 before leading them to the championship in 2007. With Isner at the # 1 singles position and playing doubles, Georgia lost just one match in his final 2 years. Isner spent most of 2007 ranked # 1 in NCAA singles play, finishing # 2 behind NCAA Singles champion Somdev Devvarman of The University of Virginia.[1]

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Meteoric Rise in Summer of 2007

Isner began his professional career in earnest in the summer of 2007. With a world ranking of # 839, he needed wild card entries into the main draws of every tournament, even at the Futures level[2].

He won his first tournament of the summer, the USA F14 Futures, beating the top 3 seeds along the way. Then, after first round losses in a Challenger-level and an ATP-level tournament, he beat 5 top-300 players and 3 seeds to win the Lexington challenger in July to improve his ranking to #416 after just one month.

At the following week's tournament at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., Fernando Gonzalez's late withdrawal freed up a wild card spot, which was given at the last minute to Isner.[3] Isner took full advantage of his good fortune, recording his first-ever wins over top-100 players. He won 3rd-set tiebreakers on 5 consecutive days, beating # 73 Tim Henman, # 47 Benjamin Becker, # 189 qualifier Wayne Odesnik, # 12 Tommy Haas, and # 54 Gael Monfils, to reach the final. He fell 6–4, 7–6 to Andy Roddick in the final, but his incredible week raised his ranking to # 193 in the world after just 6 weeks as a pro.

His Washington success earned him Wild Card entries into three more ATP tournaments: the Masters Series event in Cincinnati a week later, New Haven, and the US Open. He lost in the first round in Cincinnati to quarterfinalist # 15 David Ferrer. The following week in New Haven, he beat # 49 Becker a second time before falling to Ferrer for the 2nd week in a row.

In his US Open debut he defeated the 26th-seeded player, former quarterfinalist Jarkko Nieminen, 6(4)-7, 7–6 (4), 7–6 (5), 6–4, firing 34 aces along the way. He proceeded to win his second round match vs. Rik De Voest 6–3, 6–3, 7–6 (4), before losing in the 3rd round to the top-seeded Roger Federer 6–7 (4), 6–2, 6–4, 6–2. Isner aced Federer 18 times, and finished with 66 aces for the tournament. His US Open performance improved his ranking to #144.

[edit] Back Down to Earth After 2007 US Open

After the US Open, Isner continued to play exclusively in North America, but he came back down to earth while playing in seven Challenger-level events. He lost to a lower-ranked player for the first time as a pro at his very next tournament, and 6 of his 7 losses during this time were to lower-ranked players. He still had moderate success against lower-level competition, making 3 semifinals and also winning two doubles titles. He made the semifinals in the Calabasas, USA Challenger, losing to Robert Kendrick 6–4, 3–6, 6–7 (3). He made the quarterfinals in the Rimouski, Canada Challenger, losing to Ilia Bozoljac 6–7 (4), 6–7 (2), and he made the semifinals of the Louisville, USA Challenger, losing to Matthias Bachinger 7–5, 6–7(3), 6–7(4). In November he made it to the semifinals in the JSM Challenger, losing to Jesse Levine 7–6 (5), 6–3. His Challenger results helped him continue his rise up the ATP charts, and he finished 2007 ranked #107.

[edit] Into the Top 100 in 2008

Isner's #106 ranking in November, 2007 was just good enough to get him direct entry into his first Australian Open, after several players ranked above him dropped out.[4] But he was defeated in the first round of the 2008 Australian Open by wily tour veteran Fabrice Santoro of France 6–2 6–2 6–4. Teamed with Croat Ivo Karlovic (the tallest player on the ATP tour), Isner also lost in the first round of doubles.

Isner broke into the top-100 at #93 in February with a quarterfinal appearance at the ATP stop in San Jose, beating #90 Florent Serra and #26 Tommy Haas. He firmly established himself as a top-100 player in the first 3 months of the year, beating 6 players in the top-100 while playing exclusively in ATP-level events.

[edit] Davis Cup Career

In 2008, Isner was added to the US Davis Cup team as a practice partner.

[edit] Personal Life

John has two older brothers, Nathan and Jordan. John started playing tennis seriously at age 11 under the tutelage of Oscar Blacutt and Rob Stephens at the Carolina Tennis Academy. He is a graduate of Walter Hines Page High School and the University of Georgia, where he majored in Communications. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida where he trains at the Saddlebrook Academy alongside American pros like James Blake and Mardy Fish. He endorses Nike apparel and Prince Sports tennis racquets. He is an avid sports fan and a diehard follower of the Carolina Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes and Georgia Bulldogs.

[edit] Playing Style

Isner is known for his booming serve which is attributed, at least in part, to his 6' 9" height. Commentators have also praised his composure during matches, as displayed during his five consecutive 3rd-set tiebreaker wins in Washington, which were marked by his ability to bring out huge serves when it mattered most. Additionally he is known to back up his huge serves with approaches to the net, though he does not strictly serve and volley. Isner has been compared to 6' 10" Croatian Ivo Karlovic. Both are said to possess the best serves in tennis.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Isner College Tennis Profile
  2. ^ Isner Wild Card Entries in Summer of 2007
  3. ^ Gonzalez Withdrawal Gives Washington Wild Card to Isner
  4. ^ "Isner on outside looking in at Australian Open ... for now," ESPN, 12/11/07, accessed 12/13/07

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Isner"
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