Any which way you want to look at it, this has been the best nine-month stretch of John Isner's career--and life.
Off the court, in December, the American married his longtime girlfriend Madison McKinley. Four months later, at the age of 32, he won his biggest title yet, beating then-No. 5 Alexander Zverev in Miami for his first ATP Masters 1000 title. Isner had fallen in his previous three Masters finals to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
Glory on grass came in July when Isner, who had previously reached only one Grand Slam quarterfinal--that coming seven years ago at the 2011 US Open--reached his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon. A week later, he reached a new career-high ranking of No. 8.
And the highlights will keep coming, regardless of how Isner fares in New York at this year's US Open. He and his bride are expecting their first child, a baby girl, on Sept. 22.
“There's a lot of very cool things going on right now, life-changing things," Isner said. "I'm in a very, very good spot personally. My wife and I, we're very happy. We have a lot of good people around us.”.
I'm in a very, very good spot personally. My wife and I, we're very happy. We have a lot of good people around us.
The timing between the life-changing personal news and his best play is hardly a coincidence, as other leading ATP men have discovered. Great family news, such as marriage or the birth of a child, can relax the player and help produce career-best results in between the lines.
“It certainly puts a perspective on tennis,” Isner said. “I think it takes a lot of pressure off of tennis. That's one of the reasons I've been playing pretty well this year, is I'm in a good spot. I wouldn't change anything right now for where I am.
“Just the fact that Maddie and I have been sharing this journey together for the last seven, eight months, I think it's helping me play more relaxed and be more calm.”
A month after Andy Murray married Kim Sears in April 2015, the Scot beat Rafael Nadal in Madrid for his first clay-court Masters title. On court after the match, Murray shared his secret, penning on the TV camera, “Marriage works!”
It's hard to argue with the thesis for Isner. He admits that he's playing a more attacking brand of tennis than before, but how he's feeling has freed him up to play that way.
In years past, the 6'10” Isner, who holds serve about as often as New Yorkers argue about the Yankees and Mets, almost 95 percent of the time, has known he should be playing aggressively – charging the net at every opportunity and returning big.
But too often in the past, Isner worried more about the scoreboard than his strategy.
“It's not necessarily that I'm playing more aggressively, although I am.... I think I'm able to do that because I'm more comfortable out there on the court, more relaxed. Not so much worried about the result. Of course it's great to win, [but] if I lose, so be it,” Isner said.
“There have been a lot of times where I've been too wrapped up in the result... I'm not doing that lately, and I think that's one of the reasons I've been playing so well.”
The US Open has been Isner's best Grand Slam, by win count. He is 24-11 at Flushing Meadows, and the North Carolina native has had his best results overall on home soil. Twelve of Isner's 14 titles have come in the U.S., and eight of those 12 have come hard courts.
“I'm most comfortable playing on hard courts. It's of course what I grew up playing on. On top of that I prefer playing in the United States. Throughout my career, I've always played my best tennis at home,” Isner said.
He's reached the fourth round in Queens twice in addition to his 2011 quarterfinal, when Isner, then 26, beat then-No. 12 Gilles Simon before falling to Murray in the last eight.
Isner has certainly had his share of Flushing Meadows heartbreaks as well – see 2012, 2013, 2014, courtesy of one Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat the American in the third round in three consecutive years. In 2015, under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Isner lost his serve only once to five-time champion Roger Federer in the fourth round but still fell in straight sets.
But Big John must be thinking, why not this year, why not me? Everything in his life is “perfect” and he's playing the best tennis of his career. In July, he won his fifth Atlanta title, joining legends Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras as the only Americans to win an ATP event five times or more.
If Isner can continue his career year and reach deep into the second week in New York, he could join another set of American legends. Andy Roddick remains the last American man to win his home Grand Slam. That was in 2003.
And any way you look at it, the title of "Grand Slam champion" would turn a good year into a great one for the American.
