Tennis Ace John Isner Bids Farewell to the Sport After U.S. Open Defeat
After falling to fellow American Michael Mmoh in the U.S. Open second round on Thursday and losing his final doubles match later that day, John Isner announced his retirement from professional tennis.
Isner increased his record-setting total of aces by 48 more, dominating the opening two sets of the match before the physically demanding match took its toll on the towering 38-year-old. After triumphing in the third set tiebreak, Mmoh, 25, gained confidence and used an early break in the fourth set to force a decider.
At 5-4 in the fifth game, Isner faced match point, but Mmoh was able to serve himself out of danger and tie the score with a drop shot.
A stick volley at the net gave Isner a 4-2 lead, which caused the spectators to stand up, fittingly for the player who played in the longest professional match in history. Mmoh did not give up, though, and finished the comeback when Isner’s shoestring volley hit the back of the net.
Isner expressed his desire to be regarded as a fierce opponent on the court and a valuable member of the locker room. Isner made a stellar undergraduate tennis career at Georgia before turning pro in 2007 and rising to a career high of eighth in the world.
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Aces, Marathon Matches, and More
He won 16 singles matches, with the Miami Open victory in 2018 representing his biggest triumph. At Wimbledon in 2010, he defeated Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the longest professional tennis match in history, which lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes, over the course of three days.
His best Grand Slam performance came in 2018 at the All-England Club, where he reached the semifinals. In both 2011 and 2018, he reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Isner’s record of 14,470 aces throughout the course of his 17-year professional career is unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon. Isner and fellow American Jack Sock, who also declared he would retire after the tournament, lost their opening-round doubles match to Albano Olivetti and Robert Galloway 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3) in the afternoon.
At the year’s final major, American men want to break a Grand Slam singles drought of 20 years, and despite Isner withdrawing, they are off to a strong start. Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Tommy Paul, who were all seeded Americans, go safely through to the third round, where they will be joined by Mmoh and 20-year-old Ben Shelton.
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Source: Reuters
