 Pointlessly
handsome and wholesome looking, 6'9" (2.06m) 245 lb. (kg) tennis pro John
Isner is also famous for playing the longest tennis match in history. It took eleven
hours and lasted three days. In the singles as the 23rd seed at the 2010 Wimbledon
Championships, Isner, attempting to win his first 200 match at Wimbledon, faced
qualifier Nicolas Mahut in the first round. Isner won the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7),
7-6 (3), 70-68. In the match, Isner set the record for most aces in a match, breaking
Ivo Karlović's record of 78; Mahut passed the old mark as well. Isner served
an all-time record of 3 aces, ahead of the 03 aces served by Mahut. At 2:3
BST on June 23 the match was suspended due to darkness for a second day at 59-59
in the fifth set. The match resumed on 24 June, at 5:30 BST, starting the third
day of the match. Overall, the match lasted eleven hours and five minutes. Isner
also set the record for most games won in a Wimbledon match with 92. The match brought
Isner a measure of fame, particularly in the United States. He had guest appearances
on "Good Morning America" and the "Late Show with David Letterman",
and threw the ceremonial first pitch at a New York Yankees game in Yankee Stadium.
He and Mahut also won the 2010 ESPY Award for Best Record-Breaking Performance in
sport.
According to Wikipedia "Isner was born in Greensboro, North Carolina.
He has two older brothers, Nathan and Jordan. Isner started playing tennis seriously
at age under the tutelage of Oscar Blacutt and Rob Stephens at the Carolina Tennis
Academy. He is a graduate of Walter Hines Page Senior High School, in Greensboro,
and the University of Georgia, where he majored in Speech Communication. He currently
resides in Tampa, Florida where he trains at the Saddlebrook Academy alongside other
American tennis pros such as James Blake and Mardy Fish. Isner is currently single
and has never been married. |
