Love him or hate him, John Isner is the top American male tennis player. However, after a difficult 2014 many are already starting to look for the next big thing in American tennis. Isner has a lot to prove to himself and tennis fans all across the world in 2015. His injuries and lack of adaptability have left many wondering if we have seen the best he has to offer.
The American ended 2014 ranked nineteenth, after being ranked as high as ninth in 2012. He is starting 2015 with new coach Justin Gimelstob, after a two year run with Mike Sell. Isner has a lot of ranking points to defend in the first quarter of the season, after winning in Auckland last year and making the semi-final at both Delray Beach and Indian Wells.
The place where Isner can really make up points early in 2015 is at the Australian Open, as he was forced to retire in the first round last year with an injury. He has never made it past the fourth round in Melbourne, however.
The 29 year old was able to make it to the fourth round of the French Open in 2014 and has shown that, for a big guy, he is very comfortable on clay. Alas, there are a lot of pesky clay specialists that could give him a hard time if his serve or forehand are off.
The North Carolina native has struggled at the All England Club, never making it past the third round of Wimbledon. In 2014 he lost in the third round, despite hitting a staggering 52 aces. It is surprising how much he has struggled Wimbledon, given his big serve and his two titles at Newport. If he can get more comfortable moving on the grass and get in to a rhythm, he has the potential to make a deep run.
Isner’s best summer hard court result in 2014 was at Winston-Salem, where he made the quarter-finals before having to withdraw due to injury. He also made it to the third round of Cincinnati, where he had two match points against Andy Murray before eventually losing.
After making it to the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2011, John Isner has lost to Phillipp Kohlschreiber in the third round the last three years. Isner is said to play some of his best tennis on North American hard courts, so it is a shock that he has not been able to make it past the third round of the US Open in the last three years. Maybe the lights are a little too bright for him in the big city, but if Isner wants to return to top ten form it will be essential that he has a good US Open.
Isner may want to consider cutting down his schedule after all of his injury troubles last year, and considering the fact that he is almost 30, before the US Open. I know he enjoys the North American hard court season, but the last few years he has looked worn down heading into the US Open. It might mean that he gives up his hometown event of Winston-Salem, which is the week before the US Open, or Atlanta, which he has always enjoyed since he played for the University of Georgia.
It will be interesting to see whether Isner has made any headway in his return game or on his backhand side coming out of the gates. This is the year that he needs to prove that he is more than just a big server and forehand merchant. Moreover, he will need to look at ways to shorten his matches, especially during the early rounds, if he wants to make deep runs at the bigger tournaments. At his age and his height, he can no longer afford lengthy first or second round matches.
If John Isner can stay healthy and make the adjustments he needs to, he is still a very dangerous player who can give the top players a run for their money, but a strong start to the season is going to be key if he wants to bounce back in 2015.
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