WHAT HAPPENED: John Isner’s farewell to his professional singles career will have to wait at least another day.
Given the opportunity to lower the curtain on his illustrious career on tennis' biggest stage, Isner wasn’t quite ready to leave yet with a workman first-round 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(1) win over Facundo Diaz Acosta on Tuesday at the 2023 US Open.
“It’s not goodbye yet,” an emotional Isner told the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd during a special post match ceremony hosted by his good friend James Blake.
In the crowd were his wife Madison, his mother, and some of his contemporaries including the Bryan Brothers, Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey.
“I’m actually feeling pretty good, so I'm going to try to keep this going as long as I can,” said Isner, who received a wild card to this year's event at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. He meets young American Michael Mmoh next.
On Tuesday afternoon it was vintage Isner for just under two-and-a-half hours against the 22-year-old Argentine southpaw who was making his Flushing Meadows debut.
Isner punctuated the match with big serving, firing off 11 aces in total and never facing a break point. He racked up 40 winners, including 33 at the net. And there was even a tiebreak for the player who has played the most tiebreaks ever in ATP history that he won, 7-1.
Put it all together and it was like so many other victories through the years.
The career numbers for the 38-year-old American are as staggering as the number of aces the 6-foot-10 North Carolina native served up in his years on the pro tour since his ATP Tour debut in 2007:
- Top 20 in the world for 10 consecutive years (2010-19)
- No. 1 American player eight times (2012-16, 2018-20)
- Two-time US Open quarterfinalist (2011, 2018) and 2018 Wimbledon semifinalist
- 17 consecutive US Open appearances
- Winner of the longest match in tennis history of 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days against France’s Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon 2010
- All-time ace leader in ATP Tour history (14,411)
Pointedly, however, Isner spoke about one of those career highlights to the fans.
“To be an American and to have played the Open 17 times I don’t take that for granted,” he said. “This tournament, you fans are so incredible.”
WHAT IT MEANS: The father of four young children, Isner knows that when he takes this next step in his life it will be a challenging one.
“I won’t sit here and pretend that this transition is going to be easy, because it won’t be,” Isner acknowledged in a social media post prior to the tournament.
“For a large part of these past 20 plus years all I’ve really known is tennis,” the 2012 London Olympian said.
MATCH POINT: Call them the “Farewell Boys.” Isner is teaming with compatriot Jack Sock, who also announced his retirement after this tournament, as a heavyweight wild card pairing in the doubles draw. How far can they go?
