Isner joins Karlovic, Federer, and Ivanisevic with 10,000 aces

John Isner became the fourth player in the history of the ATP Tour to reach the 10,000-ace milestone when he accomplished the feat during his 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(5) setback against Steve Johnson in the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship quarterfinals on Friday. Isner’s thunderbolt at 1-2, 0-0 in the third set propelled him to the 10,000 mark, joining Ivo Karlovic, Roger Federer, and Goran Ivanisevic in an elite group.

“I’m joining a pretty small club; it’s very cool,” Isner noted. “It shows how fortunate I’ve been to be able to stay on the court for this long.”

And it shows how good his serve was, is, and always will be. The current world No. 9’s delivery has been one of the most dangerous weapons in the sport ever since he emerged on the professional scene in 2007. It has carried him to 13 ATP titles–the biggest and most of recent of which came at the Miami Open.

“That’s something that fortunately for me I picked up at a very early age,” Isner said of his serve. “I’m sure if I watched footage of myself in college, my serve’s a little bit different. But for the most part, maybe I used to move my front foot a little bit. I used to start back, take a step forward. My front foot stays still now. But the overall motion hasn’t changed a bit. I’ve seen footage of me as a freshman in high school; it’s the same serve.

“When I feel loose, when I’m not thinking and you have a lot of adrenaline…adrenaline does everything for you. I can go through a match and not hit a serve over…let’s say 132 (miles per hour)…and then I’m serving for the match and next thing I know I’m in the 140s. That’s just what it does.”

The 6’10” American will have to wait to increase his 10,009 total because he succumbing to Johnson despite blasting 28 aces and holding every single one of his service games. Johnson advanced to the semifinals after striking seven aces without double-faulting en route to his victory that required two hours and 36 minutes. Johnson faces Taylor Fritz on Saturday, while their compatriot’s bid to add to his ace count will continue later this spring on European clay.

“If I can reach 10,000, hopefully I can get to 11,000,” Isner added.

Karlovic is the only man who has reached 11,000; in fact, he has even surpassed the 12,000 mark. The all-time leader stands at 12,622, and–interestingly enough–he is still alive in the Houston semifinals. Karlovic can increase his lead when he goes up against Tennys Sandgren on Saturday.

“He has a little bit different serve than me,” the 39-year-old said of Isner. “He stays back more after it, so after he’s able to hit his forehands. But it’s a pretty similar bounce; pretty similar angles. It’s also a really good serve.”

Understatement!

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