Isner : the career of “the best serve in the history of the game” ends in a fifth-set tiebreak
The 6ft 10in American played his final singles match at the US Open on Thursday
Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic
John Isner will forever be remembered in tennis history for three things; for his incredible serve, perhaps the best ever; for playing in the longest ever match, an 11-hour, five-minute epic with Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon, and for his role in the other three Grand Slam titles bringing in the final-set tiebreak.
And so it was entirely fitting that Isner should end his singles career (he still has doubles here with another retiree Jack Sock) with a final-set tiebreak. His defeat by fellow American Michael Mmoh – and the realisation that it was his last match – left him in bits at the end of the match, almost unable to utter any words in his on-court celebration.
In honour of Isner’s career, let’s have a look at some of the main things he’ll be renowned for.
His serve: Perhaps the best the game’s ever seen
Isner hit 48 aces in his last-ever match against Mmoh, taking his record career total to an enormous 14,470, according to the ATP Tour. Having played 804 matches in his career, that averages out at 18 per match. Or four and a half games, if you want to put it that way.
At 6ft 10in, Isner obviously had the advantage of being able to hit down on the ball, adding to the power. But his placement and kick-serve was just as impressive as the booming flat one.
“I believe he has the best serve in the history of the game,” Andy Murray said this week. “Amazing technique. First and second serves, could do everything with it. He was always a disaster to see him in your part of the draw.
“I’ve had the discussion with lots of people from previous eras. Some people may disagree with that, but I believe his serve’s the best of all time. I think the stats show that, as well.”
Isner won 92 percent of his service games, won 79 percent of all first serve points and 56 percent of second serve points. Though he struggled on returns and movement was an issue just given his sheer bulk, he was good enough to win 16 titles, reach a Wimbledon semi-final and be ranked as high as No 8.
Making history at Wimbledon
First round at Wimbledon, 2010 and Isner was drawn against the Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, a serve and volleyer who loved grass.
Together the pair made history, playing for 11 hours, five minutes, stretched over three days due to delays because of rain and darkness.
The fifth set alone took eight hours, 11 minutes; Isner hit 113 aces and Mahut hit 103 aces and the two men battled it out until they almost dropped. Not surprisingly, Isner had nothing left for the next round and went out. Incredibly, they played again in the first round the following year but on that occasion, Isner won in straight sets.
Remarkably, that match actually didn’t convince Wimbledon to adopt a final-set tiebreak, despite calls from players, media and anyone else who had to be there that long for one match.
The adoption of the final-set tiebreak
Instead, it took another Isner epic, this time in the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2018, to make them finally agree to change.
This time Isner had lost, beaten 26-24 in the final set by Kevin Anderson. Come the final two days later, Anderson could barely walk and couldn’t give Novak Djokovic much of a fight.
Now, all four slams have a final-set tiebreak, thanks to Isner and a few others. As the New York Times wrote at the time; let’s call it the John Isner rule. The Australian Open joined the party in 2019, followed by Wimbledon the same year and the French Open finally gave in and did the same in 2022.
For the record, Isner played 836 tiebreaks, winning 504 and losing 332. Over the course of his 804 career Tour-level matches, he averaged 1.03 tiebreaks per match.
