Isner, 37, confident despite tall task versus Nadal at Italian Open

Rome: At 37, John Isner is just happy to be back on tour in Europe with his wife and three kids.

No longer dreaming of a Grand Slam title, he’s trying to make the back end of his tennis career not seem “like such a job” and make it “fun.”

Yet there’s serious business coming up Wednesday with a second-round match against 10-time champion Rafael Nadal in the second round at the Italian Open.

And get this: Isner believes he has a chance against the holder of a record 21 Grand Slam titles.

While Isner has only beaten Nadal once in eight previous meetings — and that lone win came indoors — the big-serving American pushed Nadal to five sets at the 2011 French Open.

“This is a very cool opportunity for me,” Isner said an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. “At 37, I get another crack at one of the all-time greats.”

“In my estimation and I think Rafa would say it, too, he’s not playing the best he’s ever played,” Isner added. “He’s been hurt and he’s just coming back. So he maybe doesn’t have his full complement of confidence that he’s used to. So maybe I can try to take advantage of that.”

The 6-foot-10 Isner certainly looked confident in a 6-4, 6-3 first-round win over Miami Open semifinalist Francisco Cerundolo.

Nadal, meanwhile is preparing to play his second tournament since returning from a rib stress fracture that kept him out for six weeks. Nadal was beaten by Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz in the Madrid Open quarterfinals last week.