John Isner was seen as the next great tennis player. The guy that if you played tennis in the United States, you looked up to. This was the guy who could break that god darn (in no particular order) Djokovic-Federer-Nadal mold that has arisen over time. Well, when Isner finished up yet another five set loss, it hit me that maybe this guy is not as good as advertised. He was supposed to be great, but never blossomed. Isner was the future of men's American tennis. John Isner had promise, but never delivered.
Isner's journey was first documented when he was a student at the University of Georgia. In 2007, he led the Bulldogs to national championship. If this was not impressive enough, he had the most singles, along with doubles, victories in the school's history. Isner was the next "it" player just in time for when he went pro.
John Isner started his career off impressively. In just his first year playing, 2007, he reached the Third Round of the US Open, beating a pretty good Jarkko Nieminen along the way. He even went on to reach the 107th spot in the world within the year! Even though the next year was not as impressive, the fact that he even broke into the top 100 during this time should have been alarming for the top players of the world.
Then, in 2009, he made his first Quarterfinals, albeit in doubles, but still for a young player, this is quite the accomplishment. At Wimbledon, he got into the epic match with Nicolas Mahut over 11 hours! This showed Isner's drive and determination. The next two seasons were Isner's most impressive. He made the 4th Round of the Australian Open, and the Third Round of the French Open. His best showing at singles, though, happened at the very end of 2011, where he made the Quarterfinals, this time in singles. This was about the time where people thought he could finally actually win a major.
In 2012, however, Isner has been struggling. He has lost in every major in five sets. At the Australian Open, it was to Feliciano Lopez. During the French Open, it was to Paul-Henri Mathieu. Wimbledon featured Isner losing to Alejandro Falla in five sets. He lost in a couple sets to Federer, but that is to be expected, but there was some good news. He beat Tomas Berdych in three sets to win in Winston Salem. It was 11-9 in the third set tie break. One wonders if matches such as these tire Isner out, and make it harder for Isner to win a major. And finally at the US Open, he lost in five to Philipp Kohlschreiber. If Isner wants to win a major championship, he will have to find a way to win five setters again.
John Isner has a lot of promise. He has done so much in his career already. But, unfortunately for Isner, however, is he he has just not delivered yet.
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