If–in the near future–America is to be made great again in the department of men’s tennis, it’s up to John Isner.
It is true that on more distant horizons, the picture for Team USA is a relatively bright one. Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Jared Donaldson, and Tommy Paul are all on the rise, but that quartet has just barley scratched the surface of Grand Slam relevancy. Right now, Isner continues to carry the load.
With Jack Sock having plateaued between 20th and 30th in the world while Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson toil outside the top 30, it should come as no surprise to see Isner as the last American man standing at Roland Garros–and that’s despite his borderline non-existent preparation on clay (he fell to Sock in the Houston semifinals and skipped the European swing until suffering an opening loss to Lukas Rosol in Geneva).
The world No. 17 generally rises to the occasion at majors, at least relative to his countrymen, and that is exactly what he is doing in Paris. Crucially managing to conserve energy by avoiding five-setters with John Millman (four sets) and Kyle Edmund (6-4, 6-4, 6-4) in the first two rounds, Isner took the court on Friday with his tank on full. But the United States’ gas level was teetering on empty when Sock wrapped up his 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 setback at the hands of Albert Ramos-Vinolas while Isner was warming up on the adjacent court.
“When I went out, when my match was called, [Sock] was down 5-4 in the third; [Ramos] was serving for it,” Isner noted. “(I) got on the court–obviously I can hear it, it’s right next door; I was pretty certain I heard Ramos won the match. I guess I knew as I was warming up I was the last American guy left.”
That status nearly evaporated into the Parisian air three hours later, when Teymuraz Gabashvili broke the No. 15 seed’s serve for a 2-0 advantage in the fifth set.
It proved to be nothing more than a wakeup call for Isner, who shockingly reeled off six consecutive games to take the match 7-6(7), 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Having previously broken Gabashvili once in the entirety of four sets, the former University of Georgia star did so three times in succession to claw his way back from the brink of defeat.
“I’m still alive and I’m happy about that,” Isner assured.
But he would prefer to have Sock by his side.
“I think I have been in this position a few times before,” Isner said of being the last American in a Grand Slam draw. “(I) really would have liked Jack to get through. I think I saw some stat (that) it’s been a long time since two Americans have made the round of 16 (here). Unfortunately, (it) did not happen this year.”
What has not happened a lot is another American progressing further than Isner at a major. In the last 10 slams dating back to the 2014 Australian Open, the former world No. 9 has been the last among the U.S. contingent remaining in the men’s singles draw seven times. One of the three aberrations saw the compatriot who was officially still alive after Isner’s exit lose hours later in the same round.
“It’s definitely not the American tennis of the early 2000s or ’90s,” Isner answered when asked if he has ever considered the dire straits in which American men’s tennis would find itself if he was not on the scene. “I have been No. 1 American for a long time now; generally around 14, 13 in the world, which I’m very proud of. But it’s not the same. It’s not what American tennis fans are accustomed to.
“But you’re right. I guess it could be worse if I wasn’t around. Hopefully I’m around for a long time to come, and I think I can be.”
But how much longer will be be around at this French Open? Andy Murray, for one, hopes it’s not past Sunday. American tennis fans, on the other hand, hope it’s–gasp–the next Sunday.
[polldaddy poll=9430382]
He’s doing better at the Slams, just needs to get over that last 4th round hurdle. I keep waiting, such a huge fan!
“better” isnt saying much!
well, I like to think I’m an optimist. There were 128 guys in the draw, he made it to the last 16, he had to be doing something positive, could have gone out in the first round.