John Isner’s tennis career ends with five-set US Open heartbreaker
As John Isner buried his face in a towel, emotions overwhelming him after his final U.S. Open singles match, Michael Mmoh celebrated the biggest win of his career.
It was the story of two Americans headed in very different directions on the Grandstand court.
Isner was on the way out and Mmoh was hoping to be on his way up, reaching the third round of a major for the second time this year after failing to get to that point previously.
“It was tricky,” the 25-year-old Mmoh said, comparing the thrill of this five-set victory, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (7), with the bittersweet feeling of ending Isner’s swan song in Flushing.
“Because obviously in the moment, in that tiebreaker, you’re not really thinking about the fact that it’s his last match. Maybe before you start the match you are, but not in that tiebreaker and not when you’re down match point.
“So when I won the match, you know, I had a lot of positive emotion and I was really, really happy. But then, one second later, I felt bad. I genuinely did.”
For most of the afternoon, it seemed like the 6-foot-10 Isner would survive.
His big serve, the trademark of his 17-year career, carried him to the first two sets. It gave him a shot, after dropping the next two sets, to steal the fifth.
But he was unable to cash in on a match point late in the fifth set, and he ran out of gas in the tiebreak that determined the match, blowing a 4-2 lead and dropping the final four points.
The pro-Isner crowd couldn’t carry him to the finish line.
Mmoh, ranked 89th in the world, had more left in that tiebreak as the match neared four hours, and Isner kept missing first serves, his top weapon that produced 48 aces betraying him.
The two shared a hug at the net, and Mmoh pointed at the seated Isner moments later, imploring the crowd to give him another ovation.
An emotional Isner addressed the crowd, thanking them in between tears.
“This is why I’ve worked as hard as I have my whole life, to play in atmospheres like this,” Isner, who also lost his doubles match later in the day, said in his on-court interview. “I might not win them all, as we know, just like today. To play in front of this crowd and have the support I’ve had is pretty special.”
The 38-year-old Isner enjoyed a strong career as the top American in a down era.
He retires with 16 ATP singles titles, eight doubles crowns, a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon and a streak of 10 seasons that saw him finish in the top 20.
He was the highest-ranked American eight of those years.
Ranked 157th in the world, it has been a tough season for Isner.
His first-round win on Tuesday was his first victory at a major this season and just his ninth win this year.
He would’ve played on if his body wasn’t breaking down, limiting his ability to train and prepare.
“I think I’ve overachieved,” he said. “I never imagined myself having this much success for this long.”
Mmoh, meanwhile, has waited for a year like this, when everything has begun to click.
He reached the third round at the Australian Open and again here in Queens.
He has defeated a number of highly ranked opponents this year — Mmoh knocked off No. 11 Karen Khachanov in the first round here — and has a real opportunity to advance even further, facing unseeded Brit Jack Draper up next riding a wave of momentum.
“Just different confidence,” Mmoh said. “Now I really feel like I belong at this level, and I really feel like I can hang with these guys and beat them. I think that reputation is going around the locker room as well. If guys see my name in the draw, they know it’s not an easy out. Maybe last year they would have thought differently.“But I really know that this year things have changed, and I feel that within myself and I feel that kind of circulating within my peers, too.”
