If they were an NBA team, such as the Memphis Grizzlies, they'd probably slow the game down, taking their time on every possession and making sure they fed the ball to the big men in the middle of the lane. But 6'11” Ivo Karlovic, 6'11” Reilly Opelka and 6'10” John Isner are ATP World Tour players, so they try to play fast, blasting serves that skid off the court and leave fans wondering how they strike so many aces. The power and athleticism of the tallest players on the ATP World Tour have been on showcase all week long at the Memphis Open, which is played on the indoor courts at The Racquet Club of Memphis. With the aforementioned tall...
Former finalist John Isner had to dig deep to overcome #NextGenATP player Yoshihito Nishioka to get his Memphis Open campaign off to a winning start on Wednesday. The second-seeded American ground out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory against the 21-year-old lefty to land a quarter-final match against his countryman Donald Young. “So tough, I knew it would be,” Isner said. “Getting a bye is a bit of a double-edged sword – you’re playing someone who’s already played a match, feeling confident. “Whereas myself, I didn’t quite have that coming into this match. The main thing is I held my composure pretty good and got an early break in the second and was able to ride that out. The third set...
If you think of stretches of John Isner's career as a title tour around the U.S., the American has claimed nearly every crown in the country. He's won the Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston once. The former Georgia Bulldog has claimed the BB&T Atlanta Open three times. Isner has also won two titles on the grass at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport. The 6'10” right-hander, who's from North Carolina, has captured his home-state tournament, the Winston-Salem Open, twice. But, although Isner has taken eight ATP World Tour titles in the U.S., his trophy case is still missing title hardware from the Memphis Open. This week, Isner will try to change that...
Two-time champion John Isner fended off a match point to keep his hopes for a third Auckland title alive on Wednesday. The second seed outlasted No. 56 Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6) at the ASB Classic. Jaziri had a match point at 6/5 on Isner's serve in the third-set tie-break, but Isner erased it with a stiff backhand volley. The 6'10” right-hander then charged the net during the next two points as well, finishing the match with a backhand volley down the line. [ALSO LIKE] Isner will meet countryman Steve Johnson in the second round. Johnson, the seventh seed, lost only two points on his first serve (31/33) to dismiss Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4, 7-6(4). Robin Haase opened up...
Go behind the scenes with John Isner, Sascha Zverev, Mischa Zverev, Denis Kudla and other ATP World Tour players as they push themselves during off-season training in Florida.