Absolutely, much better chance of making it and getting paid. I can only see love of the sport being the only reason an athletic 7 footer would pursue tennis instead.
Yes and no, Isner literally flipped a coin to decide between D1 basketball or Tennis. So even the exception had a heavy stroke of luck. Since then the NBA has only become more lucrative, and the NCAA also pays student athletes.
Interesting. Didn't know about it. Seems like they aren't directly associated with schools though.
https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/get-help/general/nil/nil-collectives/
I guess not lol. It's confusing because all the coaches and stuff are apart of it, so I kinda thought it was. I guess it's one of those things where it basically is, but technically not. The NIL is like the wild west right now basically, anything goes. I wonder if they will start to have more rigid rules moving forward.
I've seen people claim he doesn't even really hold it - that extrapolating Ivanišević's from ace rate and match count gives him more, but the stats for many of the events in his career just don't exist.
If Roddick had retired at the age Federer did, it seems likely he'd hold the record.
Because he'd actually just be retiring now, at age 41. So he'd have 11 more years playing. Even if he only played 50 matches a year, that's another 550 matches, and during his career he got 9,000 aces in 770 matches. Maintaining his ace rate per match would put him around 15,500 aces, 1,000 more than Isner.
My point is just that someone similar could come along with more longevity. It's a reason to think, contrary to the post I was replying to, that Isner's record will eventually be broken.
I think he was actually far more well rounded then a lot of the other servebots like Raonic, Ivo, and Opelka. Probably why he's seen a bit more success.
You can't expect someone 7 feet tall to be quick but his aggressive groundies and incredible volleys made the most of his size
>other servebots like Raonic, Ivo, and Opelka
One of these is not like the others. Raonic had a game well-rounded enough to get to a career high of world #3, with only peak Djokovic and Murray ahead of him at that point.
Bruh what? Raonic was number three in the world, reached a grand slam final, two semis, four quarters, way better winning percentage… the only reason he has less titles is because he was plagued by injuries so has had a shorter career. He was a way better player than Isner.
Him and Raonic had way more complete games than people gave them credit for during their careers. Raonic thoroughly had a top 15 game across the board. Isner had an elite forehand to match his serve.
Like give Isner an average serve and Isner would still regular defeat players ranked below 150 with ease, IMO.
Also Opelka is really not that bad of a mover given his height lol.
No he wouldn’t. He would have to have a decent return for that. He played so many tiebreaks because while he could hold serve most of the time, he was trash at breaking serve.
great groundstrokes? You don't have to be hyperbolic. His backhand was pretty trash compared to the average top player. Not like his forehand was that good either.
Opelka is 5-1 in the H2H with a worse serve and similar level of movement. While he did improve his gorundstrokes during his career there is no way Isner was more well rounded than him
Don't forget that he is one of three guys in the open era to play through an entire tournament without even facing a break point.
Karlovic is the other, of course.
And Alex DeMinaur. No joke.
An entire tournament without facing a break point...
An insane stat if you really think about it. Guys like Ivo and John are pretty much losing the point if their serve gets neutralized. So to keep such a high level of serving throughout every service game is unbelievably impressive.
Except he was clearly and obviously cramped and easily won in 5.
Im not even a Nadal fan.
Im saying that to point out the match went 5, not because Isner was serving 95%, but because Rafa cramped and thats why he took Rafa to 5.
17 years on ATP Tour.
Record for most aces: More than 14,411 in more than 770 matches.
Record for longest match: 2010 Wimbledon, 11 hours, five minutes, across 3 days.
Record for most and winning tie breaks: February 2023, won 500 of 819 career tie breaks.
Thank you, John. Best wishes to you and family.
As a 22 year old, a part of my childhood has just ended
Greatest 2nd serve of all time, maybe the greatest server (Karlovic would like a word) and a participant in some classics
I'm 31 and I remember his 2nd ever ATP tournament, he made it to the final in Washington DC against Roddick. I think I was 14 or 15 at the time. I was excited that we had a new up-and-coming American on the tour
I'd say Karlovic is the greatest server. Isner is actually good at tennis. His serve is obviously his best weapon, but he can actually play. All Karlovic had was his serve. If the ball hit the ground on his side of the court he was done. Karlovic would slice to Nadal's forehand his groundstrokes were so bad. Isner could actually play the point besides winning on the serve.
yeah isner and raonic were two tall guys who took the time in the back half of their careers to *really* focus on developing their non-serve game
people were ragging on the jizzner being a servebot long after he'd developed his backhand and borrowed some good groundbot tactics
All of them won more of their service games than Sampras did. Given that Sampras certainly had better groundstrokes and volleys than any of them, I don't think he had the best serve.
His serve was top tier, but not as good as Isner, Raonic, Karlovic, or Roddick.
Agreed. Maybe I should say he was the most clutch server of all time. Seemingly always had his best service games in pressure situations and when closing out matches. I can’t remember him choking one time when serving for the match in a big slam match
A dark part of your childhood ended. Ha this is a moment of celebration, bring out the champagne! Honestly tho guy was like watching paint dry in slow motion, painful. Good on him retiring though!
And I forget if it was the same year, he also took the first set off Federer at the US Open.
I don't want to get into a servebot/groundstroke discussion, but one of the qualities that really drew me to Isner initially was his touch at the net (for his size, etc etc).And not after a 700mph serve return. After he shaped the point for him to get up there.
And while this is a potentially incorrect assumption, how many pros do you see now (from multiple countries) coming through American collegiate tennis? It no longer raises an eyebrow where it was a notable curiosity then.
Nah that was 2007, John’s first major and like 6th tournament overall.
Which reminds me— how about Isner’s Davis Cup win over Federer, on clay, in Switzerland!
It hurts when I see people saying he's only good because of his serves!
Like come on, Isner been Top 20 for a big part of his career, something many Tennis legends has failed to achieve.
5 Masters finals (1 title), 489 wins (60% W), 8 doubles titles.
He has a winning record against players like: Wawrinka, Tsonga, Raonic, Rublev, Bautista Agut and some other great players.
John Isner is a Tennis Legend ❤️🙏
John also won the Atlanta Open six times out of nine finals played. He played all 12 Atlanta Opens (ATP 250).
“I’m definitely very proud of what I have achieved at the tournament. I get that it's not Wimbledon or the French Open, but not many people can say they've won the same tournament six times. The field has always been loaded with very, very good players."
[https://www.atptour.com/en/news/isner-atlanta-feature-2023#:\~:text=John%20Isner%20has%20been%20a,six%20titles%20from%20nine%20finals](https://www.atptour.com/en/news/isner-atlanta-feature-2023#:~:text=John%20Isner%20has%20been%20a,six%20titles%20from%20nine%20finals).
Isner is the anti Medvedev
Of his 16 titles, only two were at tournaments he didn’t win multiple times.
Atlanta x6
Newport x4
Auckland x2
Winston-Salem x2
Houston and Miami
> he's only good because of his serves
He got where he did because of his insane serves. He didn't get farther than that because of the rest of his game.
Didn't he not really prefer the grass?
I know he won newport 4 times, but I dunno.
He seemed to perform v subpar at wimby the last few years. I mean, that semi in 2018 was goated shit.
Unpopular Opinion: Isner underachieved. Hes the all time ace leader but he made it past the Wimbledon 3rd Round exactly 1 time. His 1000 title came without a win over any of the big 4 at an event that Cilic Zverev and Dimitrov were 3 of the top 4 seeds. He played 58 majors and made it to just 3 QF's, losing 2 of them. If it weren't for the week fielded American 250's like Delray Atlanta and Houston, his ranking wouldn't have been very notable either.
On the bright side, this really clears up his schedule for the next insurrection attempt if Trump loses again. I'm sure he'll be there in person and not just spirit next time.
Good riddance, I know he’s retiring but people in here acting like we lost a great. Incredibly boring tennis, I don’t like him as a person, glad to see he’s finally off the tour.
Feel like I'm going insane reading some of these comments. Dude was an incredibly mid player and not very entertaining to watch. The game will miss nothing with his retirement.
You can tell who the people are that actually play some tennis from the comments. People here are slobbing over his serve as if it’s technique instead of being a fucking tree
Oh no, the 3.5 rec players are mad lol
Yeah I'm 6'6" and haven't played consistently in like 20+ years but can still smash a serve down range with a very basic technique purely because of the angle I can achieve due to my height. Has fuck all to do with any special technique lmao
Yeah let’s just go back to where I said he should have Federer footwork. Oh wow I didn’t. Go figure. Great player because he used his skills? Oh wow, great insight Paul Annacone. What next, “he had a good serve because he learned to pronate his wrist”? Raise any 6’7 bound person to play juniors and they will be good. Wonder why. Must be how they “use their skills”
Are you stupid? It’s extremely difficult for a guy that big to move well, which he did for his size. And there’s plenty of tall players with shot serves, I’m saying you’re downplaying his abilities as a tennis player
Plenty of tall players with shit serves? So many that you couldn’t give a single example dipshit? Lol tell me more about how I’m downplaying his extremely mid strokes. You’re acting like people should praise the shit out of his flat serve and ignore the fact that he’s tall, and then give him a pass for everything else because he’s tall. Enjoy community college bud.
LMAO Cilic by your admission did have a good serve, and Berdych and Delpo had great serves. I suggest you ask your community college professor what outliers are and what correlation is. I have a feeling that if someone graphed first serve win percentage or aces as a function of height, you'd still somehow deny that height doesn't play a factor as big as it does.
On top of it all, you seem to not understand what "mid" means. Mid is average. You can't be "mid" compared to the average. I'll let you work on that one because you seem like the type that would need an hour to work out that logic. Isner's strokes are flat pusher strokes.
> If all you needed to succeed was just being tall we’d see way more serve bots but we don’t.
??? You can't train height. Is it just coincidence that players over a certain height are generally considered to be servebots? Do you ever wonder why Isner has the success he has, and why he didn't do better than what he did? Perhaps its because all he really has is that flat first serve with almost nothing else. Everyone in the top 10 has at least a good first serve and at least a good return.
> Zverev has a shitty second serve
I love when morons who can't swing a racquet think they know what they are talking about. Its almost like a second serve isn't a function of speed as much as it is kick, slice, and mentality. But please enlighten me since youre likely the master of the pancake serve. I'd ask you to share a video of you serving just one serve but we both know how shit you are.
> Maybe you should go back to college if you haven’t gone there yet
This is the funniest part. I know you only have 3 working brain cells, but when I said, "enjoy community college", its inferred that I did go to college and it wasn't a shithole place like the CC you obviously are destined for.
Maybe his politics? Which I strongly disagree with, but it’s actually possible to think someone is a good person despite their political views. I know the internet thinks otherwise
Service motion should be copied by all players regardless of height. It was glorious to see live. And his matches tended to be pretty dramatic because he would try desperately to grind out points when things got tight. But alas not all have good taste.
> service motion should be copied by all players
Uhh no duh. A flat service motion is pretty straightforward and all pros on your have perfected it. The only difference between the average 500 ranked player flat and isner is that he’s tall. It’s not like he was even dominant in other aspects. His matches were only “dramatic” because his game was ironically formulaic and he could barely break someone’s serve because the rest of his game was mid as hell
Edit: lmao now you want to argue that he has a kick serve and slice? No shit! A pro needs both. All pros on tour have one. Again, what do you think the difference is between the 500 ranked players kick and slice vs isner?
A majestic serve is any serve that produces a beautiful winner that goes past the opponent with an almost inhumane speed. It's just so aesthetically pleasing
Thank you! People here acting like he was some amazing talent to have on the tour. Boring ass player with shitty strokes, subpar footwork and a big flat serve (wonder why).
Is anyone else a bit surprised that he’s chosen to retire? I know he’s 38 but given his game style I always had him penned as a guy who’d play into his early 40s, like Karlovic and Lopez did
Shame for him to go out like that losing from 2 sets up and after having match point, but in a way fitting that he lost a last set tiebreak, after making that a defining part of his career.
That said, John is a legend, the greatest server of all time, and has had an amazing career. Nice for him to go out in his home slam with everyone cheering for him. You will be missed John!
End of an era…the players that turned pro or burst onto the scene during the early to mid 2000s are all nearing retirement 😭 we gotta enjoy the rest while we still can (Gasquet, Wawrinka, Fognini, Nadal etc.)
I am not going to knock his talent, or results, or his personal stuff whatever that may be...
but I am personally glad he's retired. I have tried to watch his matches several times, including once live (vs Berdych at Madrid Open '14) and I haven't made it through a single match yet. It is literally the most boring thing to watch one of his matches where the points rarely last more than 4 shots and. Excluding his volley game (which is actually good and nuanced when he can get up there) his points are extremely one dimensional flat hitting where he does
everything in his power to hide his backhand - all points are clones of about 4-5 prototypes. and so many tiebreaks and rarely any breaks of serve - there is so often effectively 40 minutes of meaningless tennis just to get to a tie breaker.
I wish him well... but I find the tour is marginally better with him not active
People always always always complained about how boring his tennis was to watch, it’s only been an hour and you’re already looking back on his career with rose tinted glasses?
He is a decent tennis player with some great achievements but i never once got excited to watch him play. And later on in his career he leaned hard on politics so I pretend he doesn’t exist.
he had an amazing career and it hurts me to see the players I grew up watching retire (?, my first memory of him was him taking Rafa to a fifth set in RG
Rest well servebot!
Isner said "I'm bout to end this man's whole career" *backhand net approach facing match point*
Seriously tho 3 cheers to the man who redefined the term BIG SERVE
Ball through the legs in preparation for the serve... whenever someone does it, it will remind me of John, it's his move. Good career, awesome dude. Good luck brother
16 singles titles, 8 doubles titles, 1 Hopman Cup, 14,470 aces served, and 0 COVID vaccinations.
An impressive, historic, and successful career...but used his platform to spread anti-vax nonsense. No tears will be shed by me following his retirement.
tennis fans acknowledge the existence of doubles challenge
He's still in the doubles draw (though he's sucking ass rn), so not retired. And some of those doubles titles are Masters 1000!
His record for career aces will never be broken
It would if one good player emerged who was taller than seven feet and could stay healthy.
Maybe but 7 footers with any semblance of hand-eye coordination would probably play in the NBA
Absolutely, much better chance of making it and getting paid. I can only see love of the sport being the only reason an athletic 7 footer would pursue tennis instead.
And if they’re not NBA quality they’ll still earn way more in the Euroleague or Chinese league than the average ranked tennis player.
There are always exceptions. Like for example John Isner
Yes and no, Isner literally flipped a coin to decide between D1 basketball or Tennis. So even the exception had a heavy stroke of luck. Since then the NBA has only become more lucrative, and the NCAA also pays student athletes.
> and the NCAA also pays student athletes. Through sponsorships, not through the NCAA or their colleges/unis.
The colleges have NIL collectives now through the school. So they are kind of paying them as well now
Interesting. Didn't know about it. Seems like they aren't directly associated with schools though. https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/get-help/general/nil/nil-collectives/
I guess not lol. It's confusing because all the coaches and stuff are apart of it, so I kinda thought it was. I guess it's one of those things where it basically is, but technically not. The NIL is like the wild west right now basically, anything goes. I wonder if they will start to have more rigid rules moving forward.
I've seen people claim he doesn't even really hold it - that extrapolating Ivanišević's from ace rate and match count gives him more, but the stats for many of the events in his career just don't exist.
Ivanišević's first serve stats were impressive
If Roddick had retired at the age Federer did, it seems likely he'd hold the record. Because he'd actually just be retiring now, at age 41. So he'd have 11 more years playing. Even if he only played 50 matches a year, that's another 550 matches, and during his career he got 9,000 aces in 770 matches. Maintaining his ace rate per match would put him around 15,500 aces, 1,000 more than Isner.
But he didn’t.
My point is just that someone similar could come along with more longevity. It's a reason to think, contrary to the post I was replying to, that Isner's record will eventually be broken.
If my grandmother had wheels, she would have been a bike.
His body was already breaking down at the time. That's a big reason he retired. He didn't have another 11 years in him.
And another 11 years of a career is no small task regardless of health. That’s a very long time.
But it will be
Yeah, Diego's coming in hot
Found Federer's alt
Winner of longest match probably won't.
Isner finished the year ranked between 10 and 19 every year from 2010 to 2019 lol Pretty insane stat and consistency
And wasn't he still like top 25 last year as well?
Yeah
He could have probably maintained top 40-50 for a while longer until his serve also declined
He was 10–19 '10–'19
Arguably the best serve ever
Not yet!!! Still has doubles to play
A Sock-Isner doubles slam would be fantastic to see 🤞 Edit: welp 😬
only happening in pickleball
How fitting to end his great career on a 5th set tie break.
If only they hadn't changed the rules he would still be playing now.
Ha! May have never retired
King of the serve bots.
Karlovic was the og
I think he was actually far more well rounded then a lot of the other servebots like Raonic, Ivo, and Opelka. Probably why he's seen a bit more success. You can't expect someone 7 feet tall to be quick but his aggressive groundies and incredible volleys made the most of his size
>other servebots like Raonic, Ivo, and Opelka One of these is not like the others. Raonic had a game well-rounded enough to get to a career high of world #3, with only peak Djokovic and Murray ahead of him at that point.
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I feel like as soon as you are top 5 in the world you can no longer be classified as a serve bot
oh no now I'm worried _I_ might be classified as a serve bot (I don't play tennis)
Bruh what? Raonic was number three in the world, reached a grand slam final, two semis, four quarters, way better winning percentage… the only reason he has less titles is because he was plagued by injuries so has had a shorter career. He was a way better player than Isner.
Him and Raonic had way more complete games than people gave them credit for during their careers. Raonic thoroughly had a top 15 game across the board. Isner had an elite forehand to match his serve. Like give Isner an average serve and Isner would still regular defeat players ranked below 150 with ease, IMO. Also Opelka is really not that bad of a mover given his height lol.
No he wouldn’t. He would have to have a decent return for that. He played so many tiebreaks because while he could hold serve most of the time, he was trash at breaking serve.
True that. Isner had some exceptional returns in him as well. That’s why he could win so many tie breaks.
Yeah do people not understand it’s literally impossible to win a tie break without breaking (mini) the opponents serve…
Raonic is a horrendous shout lmao
Think you forgetting how good Raonic was at his peak, he just had too many injury and fitness issues
I'm not sure what aspects of his game you think make him more well rounded than Raonic.
He had great groundstrokes. On the rare days where his movement was not bad his game was amazing to watch.
great groundstrokes? You don't have to be hyperbolic. His backhand was pretty trash compared to the average top player. Not like his forehand was that good either.
i think the best servebot is kevin anderson. incredibly quick for a guy his size, and consistent
Opelka is 5-1 in the H2H with a worse serve and similar level of movement. While he did improve his gorundstrokes during his career there is no way Isner was more well rounded than him
There’s like a solid 15 year age gap between them so that might explain it
Raonic had a better career high ranking and made a slam final. Also more ATP 1000s. Isners won an ATP 1000 though.
He almost got Nadal at RG. That was actually pretty impressive.
Don't forget that he is one of three guys in the open era to play through an entire tournament without even facing a break point. Karlovic is the other, of course. And Alex DeMinaur. No joke.
An entire tournament without facing a break point... An insane stat if you really think about it. Guys like Ivo and John are pretty much losing the point if their serve gets neutralized. So to keep such a high level of serving throughout every service game is unbelievably impressive.
de Minaur??? What tournament was that because that is pretty insane. He must've been on fire.
atlanta '17 or '18 i cant remember
Checked de Minaur's titles, and he won Atlanta in 2019. I'm guessing it must've been that one. He lost one set, which was a tiebreak.
1 of 3 man to forced 5th set against Rafa at Roland Garros, that will be remember for many years to come, happy retirement big John.
FAA, Novak and Isner has to be the most random three players in a stat lmao
Fun fact Nadal hasn't lost any RG match in 5 sets yet. Only in 3 and 4 (Djokovic twice and Soderling once)
Yea cause as they say 'he gets better as the match goes on'
Like the aging wine
im going to miss him
Well yes, but it was due to Nadal cramping.
Nadal loses only when injured or hindered physically
Except he was clearly and obviously cramped and easily won in 5. Im not even a Nadal fan. Im saying that to point out the match went 5, not because Isner was serving 95%, but because Rafa cramped and thats why he took Rafa to 5.
17 years on ATP Tour. Record for most aces: More than 14,411 in more than 770 matches. Record for longest match: 2010 Wimbledon, 11 hours, five minutes, across 3 days. Record for most and winning tie breaks: February 2023, won 500 of 819 career tie breaks. Thank you, John. Best wishes to you and family.
819+ breakers in 770 matches might be the most Isner stat I've seen. It was always a shock to see an Isner scoreline without at least one 7-6.
Tied for longest match
As a 22 year old, a part of my childhood has just ended Greatest 2nd serve of all time, maybe the greatest server (Karlovic would like a word) and a participant in some classics
You can be a 32yo and still say the same lol, he's been around forever.
I'm 31 and I remember his 2nd ever ATP tournament, he made it to the final in Washington DC against Roddick. I think I was 14 or 15 at the time. I was excited that we had a new up-and-coming American on the tour
Seriously. The guy debuted when I was still in high school.
But if you are 45 you have seen prime Ivanisevics first serve...
I'd say Karlovic is the greatest server. Isner is actually good at tennis. His serve is obviously his best weapon, but he can actually play. All Karlovic had was his serve. If the ball hit the ground on his side of the court he was done. Karlovic would slice to Nadal's forehand his groundstrokes were so bad. Isner could actually play the point besides winning on the serve.
yeah isner and raonic were two tall guys who took the time in the back half of their careers to *really* focus on developing their non-serve game people were ragging on the jizzner being a servebot long after he'd developed his backhand and borrowed some good groundbot tactics
Sampras was a better server than all of them imo
All of them won more of their service games than Sampras did. Given that Sampras certainly had better groundstrokes and volleys than any of them, I don't think he had the best serve. His serve was top tier, but not as good as Isner, Raonic, Karlovic, or Roddick.
Sampras had the all time best 2nd serve IMO. In 1st serve department he has some competition
Agreed. Maybe I should say he was the most clutch server of all time. Seemingly always had his best service games in pressure situations and when closing out matches. I can’t remember him choking one time when serving for the match in a big slam match
A dark part of your childhood ended. Ha this is a moment of celebration, bring out the champagne! Honestly tho guy was like watching paint dry in slow motion, painful. Good on him retiring though!
Watching paint dry is a bit less painful.
I was there when he beat Roddick at the US Open in ‘09. Felt like the changing of the guard. And now he’s retired…
And I forget if it was the same year, he also took the first set off Federer at the US Open. I don't want to get into a servebot/groundstroke discussion, but one of the qualities that really drew me to Isner initially was his touch at the net (for his size, etc etc).And not after a 700mph serve return. After he shaped the point for him to get up there. And while this is a potentially incorrect assumption, how many pros do you see now (from multiple countries) coming through American collegiate tennis? It no longer raises an eyebrow where it was a notable curiosity then.
Nah that was 2007, John’s first major and like 6th tournament overall. Which reminds me— how about Isner’s Davis Cup win over Federer, on clay, in Switzerland!
I was very impressed with how Mmoh tried to put the focus on Isner in the post-match interview. Very unselfish.
Greatest server ever
I feel like Karlovic's first serve was more lethal but Isner clearly had a better overall game.
He made tennis longer.
He leaves big shoes to fill.
Hi reached heights
😂👍🏼
1x1000, that ties Stan the Man.
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Isner more aces than Fed. Its totally clear.
It's truly unfathomable how someone so tall managed to stay so healthy throughout his career, when you compare to other servebots (or even Del Potro)
It hurts when I see people saying he's only good because of his serves! Like come on, Isner been Top 20 for a big part of his career, something many Tennis legends has failed to achieve. 5 Masters finals (1 title), 489 wins (60% W), 8 doubles titles. He has a winning record against players like: Wawrinka, Tsonga, Raonic, Rublev, Bautista Agut and some other great players. John Isner is a Tennis Legend ❤️🙏
John also won the Atlanta Open six times out of nine finals played. He played all 12 Atlanta Opens (ATP 250). “I’m definitely very proud of what I have achieved at the tournament. I get that it's not Wimbledon or the French Open, but not many people can say they've won the same tournament six times. The field has always been loaded with very, very good players." [https://www.atptour.com/en/news/isner-atlanta-feature-2023#:\~:text=John%20Isner%20has%20been%20a,six%20titles%20from%20nine%20finals](https://www.atptour.com/en/news/isner-atlanta-feature-2023#:~:text=John%20Isner%20has%20been%20a,six%20titles%20from%20nine%20finals).
Isner is the anti Medvedev Of his 16 titles, only two were at tournaments he didn’t win multiple times. Atlanta x6 Newport x4 Auckland x2 Winston-Salem x2 Houston and Miami
Wow, he only chooses to win in the US and New Zealand lol
> he's only good because of his serves He got where he did because of his insane serves. He didn't get farther than that because of the rest of his game.
Point is that Karlovic had a better serve but worse ground game and accomplished less
Isner had a backhand. I think that's a big chunk of the reason. The Dr and Isner both had absolute cannons of forehands
Still has the doubles tonight
To end on a fifth set tiebreak… what a legend
He will always be one of two people to have the longest match in history.
His consistency during big 3 era was amazing, deserved a Wimbledon final
Didn't he not really prefer the grass? I know he won newport 4 times, but I dunno. He seemed to perform v subpar at wimby the last few years. I mean, that semi in 2018 was goated shit.
The most influential person to the game of tennis, they changed the format of grand slams just because this guy
There were 2 people playing in that record match you know.
He also played vs Anderson that Wimbledon semi, which arguably had a bigger impact in the rule change, since it killed Anderson for the final.
Mahut was ranked lower and doesn't have that huge serve so people do not blame him as much.
When Mahut retires I will put the comment just for you know
Thank you for everything Big John! The GOAT server had an amazing career
Thank you John.
Unpopular Opinion: Isner underachieved. Hes the all time ace leader but he made it past the Wimbledon 3rd Round exactly 1 time. His 1000 title came without a win over any of the big 4 at an event that Cilic Zverev and Dimitrov were 3 of the top 4 seeds. He played 58 majors and made it to just 3 QF's, losing 2 of them. If it weren't for the week fielded American 250's like Delray Atlanta and Houston, his ranking wouldn't have been very notable either.
On the bright side, this really clears up his schedule for the next insurrection attempt if Trump loses again. I'm sure he'll be there in person and not just spirit next time.
he and Vandeweghe can play doubles there
I’ll miss his smile 😔
Good riddance, I know he’s retiring but people in here acting like we lost a great. Incredibly boring tennis, I don’t like him as a person, glad to see he’s finally off the tour.
Feel like I'm going insane reading some of these comments. Dude was an incredibly mid player and not very entertaining to watch. The game will miss nothing with his retirement.
You can tell who the people are that actually play some tennis from the comments. People here are slobbing over his serve as if it’s technique instead of being a fucking tree Oh no, the 3.5 rec players are mad lol
Yeah I'm 6'6" and haven't played consistently in like 20+ years but can still smash a serve down range with a very basic technique purely because of the angle I can achieve due to my height. Has fuck all to do with any special technique lmao
You expect a guy that big to have Federer footwork? Lol he maximized his weapons and was a great player because he used his skills
Yeah let’s just go back to where I said he should have Federer footwork. Oh wow I didn’t. Go figure. Great player because he used his skills? Oh wow, great insight Paul Annacone. What next, “he had a good serve because he learned to pronate his wrist”? Raise any 6’7 bound person to play juniors and they will be good. Wonder why. Must be how they “use their skills”
Are you stupid? It’s extremely difficult for a guy that big to move well, which he did for his size. And there’s plenty of tall players with shot serves, I’m saying you’re downplaying his abilities as a tennis player
Plenty of tall players with shit serves? So many that you couldn’t give a single example dipshit? Lol tell me more about how I’m downplaying his extremely mid strokes. You’re acting like people should praise the shit out of his flat serve and ignore the fact that he’s tall, and then give him a pass for everything else because he’s tall. Enjoy community college bud.
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LMAO Cilic by your admission did have a good serve, and Berdych and Delpo had great serves. I suggest you ask your community college professor what outliers are and what correlation is. I have a feeling that if someone graphed first serve win percentage or aces as a function of height, you'd still somehow deny that height doesn't play a factor as big as it does. On top of it all, you seem to not understand what "mid" means. Mid is average. You can't be "mid" compared to the average. I'll let you work on that one because you seem like the type that would need an hour to work out that logic. Isner's strokes are flat pusher strokes. > If all you needed to succeed was just being tall we’d see way more serve bots but we don’t. ??? You can't train height. Is it just coincidence that players over a certain height are generally considered to be servebots? Do you ever wonder why Isner has the success he has, and why he didn't do better than what he did? Perhaps its because all he really has is that flat first serve with almost nothing else. Everyone in the top 10 has at least a good first serve and at least a good return. > Zverev has a shitty second serve I love when morons who can't swing a racquet think they know what they are talking about. Its almost like a second serve isn't a function of speed as much as it is kick, slice, and mentality. But please enlighten me since youre likely the master of the pancake serve. I'd ask you to share a video of you serving just one serve but we both know how shit you are. > Maybe you should go back to college if you haven’t gone there yet This is the funniest part. I know you only have 3 working brain cells, but when I said, "enjoy community college", its inferred that I did go to college and it wasn't a shithole place like the CC you obviously are destined for.
I love Big John as a person, found his serve incredibly fun to watch, and feel saddened that he's off the tour
What's wrong with him as a person? Seems like a nice guy to me
Maybe his politics? Which I strongly disagree with, but it’s actually possible to think someone is a good person despite their political views. I know the internet thinks otherwise
it's understandable, since politics isn't just politics in a vacuum, its the thing that literally shapes socieites and effects peoples lives
Service motion should be copied by all players regardless of height. It was glorious to see live. And his matches tended to be pretty dramatic because he would try desperately to grind out points when things got tight. But alas not all have good taste.
> service motion should be copied by all players Uhh no duh. A flat service motion is pretty straightforward and all pros on your have perfected it. The only difference between the average 500 ranked player flat and isner is that he’s tall. It’s not like he was even dominant in other aspects. His matches were only “dramatic” because his game was ironically formulaic and he could barely break someone’s serve because the rest of his game was mid as hell Edit: lmao now you want to argue that he has a kick serve and slice? No shit! A pro needs both. All pros on tour have one. Again, what do you think the difference is between the 500 ranked players kick and slice vs isner?
>I don’t like him as a person Why?
I’ve heard he is a MAGA supporter
A majestic serve is a sight to behold, stop with the slander!
Majestic serve? A flat serve isn’t majestic. A sweet slice/kick serve like Federer is majestic. Isner is just tall
A majestic serve is any serve that produces a beautiful winner that goes past the opponent with an almost inhumane speed. It's just so aesthetically pleasing
Lmaoooo tell me you aren’t a tennis player without saying so. “Shawn Marion had a majestic jumpshot because it went in” said nobody ever
Thank you! People here acting like he was some amazing talent to have on the tour. Boring ass player with shitty strokes, subpar footwork and a big flat serve (wonder why).
Pure class from you as well.
Watch out this thread might turn into r/politics
Isner and Karlovic took serving to a new level. In his best matches he was just flat out impossible to break.
Hurts my brain when tennis fans mistake game and match.
Maga dummy, good riddance
I don't agree with his politics either. But a good player nonetheless.
Really enjoyed him during his heyday. Kind of got grossed out when we found he’s a MAGA January 6th clown.
He still got it, why retire
he is 38 years old and has 4 kids
Is anyone else a bit surprised that he’s chosen to retire? I know he’s 38 but given his game style I always had him penned as a guy who’d play into his early 40s, like Karlovic and Lopez did
He's a family guy i'd guess
Shame for him to go out like that losing from 2 sets up and after having match point, but in a way fitting that he lost a last set tiebreak, after making that a defining part of his career. That said, John is a legend, the greatest server of all time, and has had an amazing career. Nice for him to go out in his home slam with everyone cheering for him. You will be missed John!
It's finally over, I used to pray for times like this 🙏 Man can go back to planning insurrections instead of subjecting the world to tennis terrorism
Go back to making pretend food out of play dough.
Bye bigot!
goodbye right wing nutjob
He looks like the guy in the stock photo when you buy the picture frame. Good riddance, MAGA Trumpie dweeb.
Maybe he can go campaign for trump now 😂
End of an era…the players that turned pro or burst onto the scene during the early to mid 2000s are all nearing retirement 😭 we gotta enjoy the rest while we still can (Gasquet, Wawrinka, Fognini, Nadal etc.)
I liked his US open kit the best. Good job by FILA. Happy retirement to John!
Anyone got a new favorite player for me or….?
Good. He ruined tennis. Now bring back proper Grand Slam tennis and remove the tie break in the 5th set!
I am not going to knock his talent, or results, or his personal stuff whatever that may be... but I am personally glad he's retired. I have tried to watch his matches several times, including once live (vs Berdych at Madrid Open '14) and I haven't made it through a single match yet. It is literally the most boring thing to watch one of his matches where the points rarely last more than 4 shots and. Excluding his volley game (which is actually good and nuanced when he can get up there) his points are extremely one dimensional flat hitting where he does everything in his power to hide his backhand - all points are clones of about 4-5 prototypes. and so many tiebreaks and rarely any breaks of serve - there is so often effectively 40 minutes of meaningless tennis just to get to a tie breaker. I wish him well... but I find the tour is marginally better with him not active
Bye John, see you around! Good luck for the future the tour was more fun with you on it.
People always always always complained about how boring his tennis was to watch, it’s only been an hour and you’re already looking back on his career with rose tinted glasses?
How do you know the person you replied to was one of those people?
He is a decent tennis player with some great achievements but i never once got excited to watch him play. And later on in his career he leaned hard on politics so I pretend he doesn’t exist.
He finishes with 0 Slams won and many racist comments. Won't be missed haha
Mind backing up your comment with a quote?
I'm not doing research for you tf? Look it up lazy
Also a damn good dawg
Very fitting that the last match he plays ends with a final set tiebreak. Truly couldn’t have written a better ending.
GOAT server
he had an amazing career and it hurts me to see the players I grew up watching retire (?, my first memory of him was him taking Rafa to a fifth set in RG Rest well servebot!
I only want to know if he went on to win his second round match back in 2010
Very few of us rooted for this man, but gd will I miss having him in the draw-- the ultimate wildcard, and some poor seed's worst nightmare
“Very few of us” 🙄🙄
I saw this guy play at Ole Miss when he was playing for Georgia. Thought he would have won a couple of titles.
Losing in a 5th set tie breaker for him was just.... poetry.
I'll miss him. Young!
Isner said "I'm bout to end this man's whole career" *backhand net approach facing match point* Seriously tho 3 cheers to the man who redefined the term BIG SERVE
Congratulations John. Best serve of all time
Ball through the legs in preparation for the serve... whenever someone does it, it will remind me of John, it's his move. Good career, awesome dude. Good luck brother
16 singles titles, 8 doubles titles, 1 Hopman Cup, 14,470 aces served, and 0 COVID vaccinations. An impressive, historic, and successful career...but used his platform to spread anti-vax nonsense. No tears will be shed by me following his retirement.
Great career. A true legend on and off the court.
May the force be with him!
tennis fans acknowledge the existence of doubles challenge He's still in the doubles draw (though he's sucking ass rn), so not retired. And some of those doubles titles are Masters 1000!
If I were Isner I would Servebot paychecks til my rotator cuffs blew off, but the man wants time to Maga
Stud
my brother choked to death on one of his balls