John Isner Tennis : News Releases

Earning a wild card the right way

info@johnisnertennis.com (John Isner Tennis) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The news story didn’t exactly generate headlines, but John Isner and Christina McHale have wild cards into the Australian Open, and they got them the old-fashioned way—earning them in a special playoffs sponsored by the USTA. This is a great way to dole out wild cards, and a welcome change from the chronic abuse of the wild-card system.

The wild-card concept was created mainly for three reasons: First, it allowed tournaments to include and honor older players and former champions (inevitably, fan favorites) who still wanted to give the game a go but no longer played enough (or well enough) to earn direct entry. Second, it provided a “fast track” method of getting back into the mix for players who were forced to take an extended break (usually due to injury) from the game. Third, it gave tournament directors a little more promotional latitude.

The third reason is the least important, and it factored mostly at smaller events. By giving wild cards to either well-known local tennis figures (former top-50 players) or promising juniors from the area, a tournament could drum up valuable publicity in local media outlets, and ~~- theoretically -~~ sell that many more tickets.

These original purposes have been useful and remain so. Who would deny that two of the highlights of the recent Open era were Jimmy Connors’ riveting run to the U.S. Open semifinals in 1991 and Goran Ivanisevic’s long-deferred Wimbledon victory in 2001? Connors and Ivanisevic were both wild-card entries, for a combination of the first two reasons listed above.

But over time, the original concept of the wild card was corrupted. Wild cards became bargaining chips that agents used to recruit potential clients, and tournaments used to try to build relationships with budding stars. Thus, a talented 14-year-old was offered or promised x number of wild cards either by agents (whose associates ran tournaments) or by tournament directors looking to impress themselves on the youngster or his family.

Still later, the Grand Slam events began to use wild cards to seed a draw with home-nation players, even if they were fundamentally incompetent and destined for first-round humiliation. While this is more palatable than using wild cards as recruitment tools, it’s still a shame to see wild cards that could go to deserving top 20-grade players wind up in the hands of green juniors or hopeless journeymen just because they’re from the host nation.

Presently, the U.S. and Australia have a reciprocal wild-card deal, whereby each nation gives the other a wild card to use as it sees fit. That’s how Isner and McHale scored their entries into the Australian Open. And it’s good to see that the USTA didn’t merely anoint a player the chosen one and hand him or her the free ticket: It put the wild card up for grabs via a mini-tournament. While it’s seemingly a small gesture, the wild-card competition underscores something that certain critics of the U.S. development system have been harping on for quite some time: the lack of serious competition among peers.

Earning wild cards already represents significant victories for Isner and McHale. Knowing what they cost might help both players use them to best effect.

Isner earns USTA wild card into Australian Open

info@johnisnertennis.com (John Isner Tennis) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 05:00:00 GMT

John Isner has played his way into next month’s Australian Open. Isner won a round-robin playoff in Boca Raton, Florida this weekend to earn the USTA’s wild card.

The big man was lowest-ranked player in a field of four this weekend, but he came up bigger than the rest with a Grand Slam appearance at stake.

John Isner won a wild card from the United States Tennis Association into next month’s Australian Open by winning a round-robin playoff in Boca Raton, Florida, on Saturday. The 6’9’’ University of Georgia graduate defeated Jesse Levine 6-3, 7-5 to improve to 2-0 in round-robin play. Isner outlasted Donald Young in a third-set tiebreaker on Friday.

Young got the best of Wayne Odesnik 7-5, 7-5, improving to 1-1 while leaving Odesnik at 0-2. Had Odesnik won, he would have been 1-1 heading into a Sunday showdown with Isner to decide the winner. Now, however, with Isner 2-0 and owning head-to-head wins over the men with 1-1 records, he has already clinched.

Young, the only one of the four not currently based in Florida, resides in Atlanta and is ranked 138th in the world. Odesnik is the highest-ranked player in the group at 119th. Levine comes in at No. 135 while Isner, who reached an ATP final in Washington, D.C. back in 2007, sits at 145th.

Despite his ranking, Isner has tasted Grand Slam success once before. He won two rounds at the 2007 U.S. Open before taking a set off Roger Federer in the round of 32. This year, however, Isner lost in the first round of all four majors, including a straight-set loss to Fabrice Santoro in Melbourne.

Good news from Isner

info@johnisnertennis.com (John Isner Tennis) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A telephone call to John Isner at his training camp in Tampa this week revealed a lot of good news.

First, he has recovered from a freak injury that sidelined him more than a month.

“The pulled stomach muscle is completely well,” he said. “I pulled it playing beach football with former teammates at Hilton Head Island while attending the wedding of Ricardo Gonzales (his former Bulldogs teammate) in late October.”

Then he mentioned that Georgia assistant coach Will Glenn is going to travel with him to Australia next month.

“I invited Will to be my coach for two weeks in Australia,” Isner said. “We’ll leave the U.S. Dec. 29 and I’ll play in an ATP tournament at Brisbane Jan. 4-5, followed by the Australian Open at Melbourne. Will will scout my opponents and get me ‘psychologically set’ for my matches.”

Glenn, former Athens Academy star, was a four-year letterman at Georgia under coach Manuel Diaz. As a freshman, he was a member of the 1999 NCAA championship team. He redshirted in 2001 following a knee injury, and co- captained the 2003 team with Nicolas Boeker.

He became assistant coach in 2006. The Bulldogs have won the NCAA team crown in 2007 and 2008.

Isner’s next tournament is a qualifying competition at Boca Raton, Fla., starting Dec. 19. It involves four top U.S. young pros: Isner, Donald Young of Atlanta, Jesse Levine (a former Florida star) and Wayne Odesnik of West Palm Beach. The winner will receive a “wild card” entry to the Australian Open. The losers must qualify for the Open in a tourney in Melbourne.

Isner also said that he is very excited about Mardy Fish asking him to be his doubles partner at both Brisbane and Melbourne. Fish is considered the third-best American player, ranking behind the Bryan twins (Bob and Mike), and he recently was picked to play Davis Cup doubles against Spain when Bob Bryan was injured. He and Mike beat the Spanish, who went on to win the Cup.

This past summer, Fish and Isner won the doubles at the International Hall of Fame tournament at Newport.

I asked him how he had been investing the half-million dollars he has won on the pro tour.

“I bought a very nice house in Tampa,” he replied. “And I have moved out of my apartment. I think it’s a good investment.”

I concluded with “Good luck to you and Will ‘down under.’ “

Rock 'N Racquets

info@johnisnertennis.com (John Isner Tennis) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Louisville, KY, Columbia, SC and Knoxville, TN play hosts to the sports world’s elite superstars featuring Andy Roddick, in Rock-n-Racquets – an annual tennis exhibition like no other. Joining Roddick will be 2008 US Open Champion and World #1 Serena Williams, perhaps the most recognizable female athlete in the world, 6’9 top American John Isner and the WTA Tour’s newest superstar Caroline Wozniacki, currently ranked #13 in the world.

FORMAT SUBJECT TO CHANGE:

Mixed Doubles: Roddick/Williams vs. Isner/Wozniacki

A Rock-n-Racquets exclusive – Andy Roddick teams up with Serena Williams

Women’s Singles: Serena Williams (Nine-time Grand Slam Champion) *vs. Caroline Wozniacki

Men’s Singles: Andy Roddick (#1 American has finished in the Top 10 for seven consecutive years) vs. John Isner (Future of American Tennis and ranked in the Top 100)

Former ATP Professional and current Tennis Channel on-air personality, Justin Gimelstob and Coach Wayne Bryan (Father of World #1 Doubles Team), will entertain the crowd through fan-interactive games along with live musical performances and on-court activities.

Benefiting the Andy Roddick Foundation – “Helping Children Today For Tomorrow”

TICKETS are $15-$85 per market

PAST SPONSORS include Lexus, TierOne Bank, Burger King, Chubb Personal Insurance, Embassy Suites, Mercedes-Benz, Micron, Harley-Davidson, Adidas, Pepsi, CoSentry, Boise Co-op, Stephens Inc., Micron, WaittCorp, McConnel Automotive Corp, Babolat, Tamarack Resort, and *St. Luke’s Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Services.

Gavin Rossdale Named Special Musical Act at Rock 'N Racquets

info@johnisnertennis.com (John Isner Tennis) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Musician Gavin Rossdale has been announced as the live musical component for Newberry College presents Rock-n-Racquets. Rossdale is the former lead singer of the highly successful band Bush, who produced four very successful albums which spawned nine Top 5 singles on the Billboard charts. He is currently enjoying a successful solo career with the release of his first album Wanderlust which includes the current hit single “Love Remains the Same”. Rossdale is planning a full tour in support of the album beginning Spring of 2009.

Rossdale joins previously announced tennis superstars Andy Roddick (former world #1 and US Open Champion) and 2008 US Open Champion Serena Williams (Nine Grand Slam Titles) who will team up on-court together at the Colonial Life Arena, Home of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, December 13, 2008. America’s #1 players will be joined by up and coming American star John Isner (6’9”) and the WTA Tour’s newest sensation Caroline Wozniacki, currently ranked #13 in the world.

“As a musician and passionate tennis fan I am excited to be a part of what should be a great event in Columbia benefiting the Andy Roddick Foundation.” said Rossdale. Benefiting The Andy Roddick Foundation whose mission is to raise funds and to distribute those funds to institutions that care for children that are neglected, abused, at risk and with catastrophic illnesses, Rock-n-Racquets has been designed as an annual tennis exhibition like no other. The event features the world’s most exciting tennis players with a musical component woven throughout the evening’s line-up. The synergy of athleticism and music capitalizes on providing fans with the ultimate sports/entertainment experience.

Rock-n-Racquets successfully debuted in 2002 in Miami, FL and was followed by great exhibitions in Little Rock, AR, Mobile, AL, Boise, ID, Wichita, KS and Omaha, NE. Newberry College, whose commitment made this event possible in Columbia, serves as the event’s title sponsor.

Other contributing sponsors include Time Warner Cable, Piggly Wiggly, South Carolina Pork Board-The Other White Meat, Secure Air, Babolat, Tennis Warehouse, WIS10, The State Media Company, 107.5 The Game, b106.7, Hilton Columbia Center and USTA Southern section.

Showcasing the best in men’s and women’s professional tennis, the format for the evening consists of three components:

Men’s and Women’s Singles – Andy Roddick will take on John Isner and Serena Williams will take on Caroline Wozniacki as the present takes on the future of tennis.

Mixed Doubles – A Newberry College presents Rock-n-Racquets exclusive – Roddick and Williams will team up against Isner and Wozniacki to compete in a mixed doubles match.

The evening will be complemented by a musical performance from Gavin Rossdale and an atmosphere of high-energy and fun unlike any tennis event. Wayne Bryan, father of Americas #1 doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan, serves as the event emcee and will entertain the crowd through fan interactive activities.

Dawn Staley, USC women’s head basketball coach, and Justin Gimelstob, dubbed to be one of the most entertaining players on the ATP Tour during his playing days, will also be making special guest appearances. Doors will open at 6PM at the Colonial Life Arena with play scheduled to start at 7PM (Format and order of play subject to change)

Tickets are priced from $17 to $87. Student, military, senior citizen, child and group discounts are also available. Don’t miss your chance to see Andy and Serena. Tickets are available online at Colonial Life Arena Box Office or by phone at (866) 4SC-TIXX (472.8499) or at select Play It Again Sports locations. All tickets are subject to applicable service charges. Dates and times subject to change without notice.

For additional information, please visit www.rocknracquets.com.

Louisville Tennis Exhibition

info@johnisnertennis.com (John Isner Tennis) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Tennis stars Andy Roddick and Serena Williams will face up-and-comers John Isner and Caroline Wozniacki in the ICAP Energy Rock-n-Racquets event to benefit the Andy Roddick Foundation. The players are scheduled to compete in an exhibition tennis match Dec. 12 at Freedom Hall.

View the full article.

Isner Reaches Title Match in Doubles

info@johnisnertennis.com (John Isner Tennis) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Greensboro’s John Isner came up short Friday in his bid for a second consecutive victory in the U.S. Tennis Association Challenger series. Isner, seeded eighth, dropped a 6-7, 6-1, 6-0 decision to fourth-seeded Wayne Odesnik in the quarterfinal round in Sacramento, Calif. Isner stayed alive in doubles, though, teaming with Rajeev Ram to beat Stephen Amritraj and Daniel King-Turner 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a semifinal.

Fish, Isner to Play in Plant City

info@johnisnertennis.com (John Isner Tennis) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The Canon Tennis Challenge to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation is presenting an exhibition Nov. 7-8 in Plant City at Mayor Rick Lott’s house.

The benefit features U.S. Open quarterfinalist Mardy Fish and John Isner, who is ranked ninth among American players.

There also are undercard matches involving the USTA 5.5 state champions and Bay-area high school standouts. Tickets include food, open bar and music.

For more information, call Rhett Rollyson at 813-719-0158 or Gregg Gruhl at 813-318-2075 or visit Tampa Bay Pro Tennis.

Magill: Ex-Dog wins pro tourney

info@johnisnertennis.com (John Isner Tennis) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Georgia’s John Isner is still winning on the pro circuit.

Sunday in Lubbock, Texas, he captured the ATP Challenger, defeating Canadian Davis Cup star Frank Dancevic in the finals, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-2.

Incidentally, Dancevic’s sister, Monika, earned All-SEC honors as a sophomore at Georgia last year. She is a native of Niagara Falls, Ontario.

En route to the finals at Lubbock, Isner defeated five top young pros including Ecuadorian star Giovanni Lapentti in the semifinals, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Two former Georgia teammates of Isner also competed in the Lubbock Challenger: Luis Flores and Travis Helgeson. Flores won his first match over Michael McClune, 7-5, 6-3, and then lost to Alex Bogomolov, 6-4, 6-4.

Helgeson lost in the first round to top-seeded Vince Spadea, 6-3, 7-5.

Isner and Helgeson lost in the first round of the doubles to Todd Widom and Jesse Witten, 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Isner this week will return to his training base in Tampa, Fla., and then play in Challengers in California (Sacramento and Calabasas).

He’ll play doubles with Rajeev Ram, who won the 2003 NCAA doubles title in Athens as an Illinois freshman.

After leading Georgia to the NCAA team title in 2007, Isner turned pro that summer and his prize money in little more than a year now totals $412,404.

The Greensboro, N.C., native says he plans to play on the pro circuit at least 10 more years.

Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Isner knocks off Dancevic in singles final of $50,000 Lubbock Challenger

info@johnisnertennis.com (John Isner Tennis) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The future of professional tennis was on display Sunday during the finals of the $50,000 Lubbock Challenger and the competitors didn’t disappoint.

John Isner and Frank Dancevic put on a show during the singles competition, needing a tiebreaking set to decide the winner.

Isner won his first Challenger tournament, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2.

Isner, 23, of Tampa, Fla., came into the tournament ranked No. 142 in the ATP rankings. The 6-foot-9 Isner is the second tallest active tennis player. He turned pro after leading Georgia to an NCAA team title in May 2007, and has appeared in all four grand slams, advancing to the third round in doubles at the French Open.

Dancevic just celebrated his 24th birthday a few days before the finals. The Canadian is fairly well known for his performances in big matches, with wins against Andy Roddick and David Nalbandian. He also has played in all four grand slams and represented his country in the Beijing Olympics. Dancevic is the top Canadian tennis player for his country’s Davis Cup team.

“Congratulations to Johnny. He played some really tough matches this week and he deserves it,” Dancevic said. “My back strain has really been affecting my serve, but I don’t think it would have mattered today. John played very well. I’m hoping to pick up some more points in Sacramento (in the next tournament) and move up in the rankings after having to sit out earlier this year.”

The match was fast paced with each man holding serve throughout the first set. Isner’s very tall frame allows for a devastating service game that had Dancevic frustrated during the set. It ended in a tiebreaker with Isner winning seven of nine points.

The trend of holding serve continued until late in the second set with Isner serving down, 5-4. After overcoming three break points in his previous service game, Dancevic took advantage of the opportunity and broke Isner’s serve to win the set. It was the first break of the afternoon.

Isner returned the favor by breaking Dancevic’s serve in the first game of the third set. That would prove to be the turning point in the match as that seemed to take any momentum away that Dancevic had gathered.

Dancevic had been battling a lingering back strain that he said had been affecting his serve. He was sidelined for four months earlier this year due to the injury.

“I got a new coach just before the U.S. Open and it has really helped. I feel very fit,” said Isner, the third seed in the singles draw.

Dancevic was the fourth seed.

Isner’s only other appearance in the Lubbock Challenger was in 2005, when he qualified for the main draw out of the qualifying tournament.

In doubles action, unseeded Roman Borvanov and Artem Sitak knocked off the top seed – Alex Bogomolov Jr. and Dusan Vemic – 6-2, 6-3.

The duo won the tournament by beating the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 seeds.

The No. 3 seed, Alberto Francis and Nicholas Monroe, lost in the first round to Texas Tech’s Christian Rojmar and Raony Carvalho in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.