Isner’s big chance: Serve notice, or return to fringes
Every once in awhile, life reaches up, grabs you by the lapel and says, “This is it, kid. Here’s your big chance.”
Life did that Friday to John Isner.
He won his way into the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. And with his 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) victory over Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, he climbed back into the top 10 in the men’s singles world rankings. He had been there before, and gradually drifted back down the ladder.
That was 2012, the year he made it to the final of this tournament, losing to Novak Djokovic of Serbia. That’s whom he will play in one of Saturday’s semifinals, Djokovic having dispatched Julien Benneteau of France, 6-1, 6-3. The other semifinal will match Thursday winners Roger Federer and Alexandr Dolgopolov.
For Isner, this is an opportunity for reasons well beyond simply avenging a defeat.
Well in excess of 400,000 will have come through the turnstiles by the time this tournament ends Sunday. Saturday’s crowd for the Isner match will be a
packed 16,100 in Stadium 1. Media attention reflects this worldwide, especially in Europe, where the tournament isn’t vying with college basketball, the NBA and NHL for airtime and column inches. Clearly, this is not the Dubuque Open.
Isner is also, in terms of United States players, the last cowboy standing. There were 26 U.S. players in the two main draws here, and most of them were gone in the first several days. Tournaments have leeway to give the locals, players from the host country, spots in the tournament. This one went well out of its way to do that.
The only real payback has been from Isner, the highest-ranked U.S. man. There is no question that, as well as this event draws and will continue to draw, an American player advancing into the championship weekend will boost on-site business and U.S. TV watching.
Earlier in the tournament, the current U.S. tennis failures got extra attention — unwanted among U.S. Tennis Assn. officials — when one of its own, Jose Higueras, spoke candidly on the issue. Higueras is a former star player and current No. 2 person in charge of player development for the USTA. Though he pointed no fingers directly at any one player, male or female, he clearly addressed his fear that this country’s players may be too soft, too coddled and way less driven than U.S. stars of the past.
He seemed to be asking: Where are the fire-in-the-belly guys like we used to have?
Andre Agassi played a U.S. Open with the back of a 90-yearold man. Pete Sampras vomited all over the court one year in Flushing Meadow and still won the match. There was never any question about John McEnroe’s fire, which drove him to suggest to several chair umpires, loudly, that they could not be serious. Nor was there any question that a 39-yearold Jimmy Connors would leave his intestines on the court if necessary in his run to the semifinals of the 1991 U.S. Open.
Is that gone? Is this the Isner who once suggested in an interview that he would rather skip the Asian tour in the fall so he could stay home and watch college football on TV?
Is this the Isner who has made about $6 million in prize money, had a nice life on tour since 2007 and can easily continue at around No. 20 for the next few years and be fine with it?
Or can he, even while turning 29 next month, find that next level that makes the top five the goal, or even No. 1?
This is the moment. The starting blocks are in place. Saturday would be ideal. He talked about the great fan support he received in his final against Djokovic two years ago. That will surely be there Saturday, despite his being a bit of a tough sell.
His game is an acquired taste for the casual fan. He is 6 feet 10. His serve appears to descend from clouds, not a racket.
He wrapped up the first-set tiebreaker with two serves, the first 133 mph and the set-pointer at 139. In the second-set tiebreaker, he hit one 141 to get to match point.
Several times, when Gulbis appeared to be getting some timing on Isner’s first serve, Isner hit a kicker that bounced right over Gulbis’ head. Gulbis is 6-3.
That is exciting, but the serve is really Isner’s only weapon. He has a big forehand, but you aren’t on tour if you don’t. He moves slowly, comes to the net only if he has dropped his wallet there, and can be, in certain matches, about as compelling for fans to watch as a melting popsicle.
Still, there is nothing that sells, that creates buzz, like winning. The buzz is there every time premier winners Roger Federer or Djokovic take the court. That was even the case here for Stanislas Wawrinka, the Swiss player who broke through to win this year’s Australian Open. Fans couldn’t wait to get a look at him.
Djokovic’s match, as one-sided and drama-free as it was, wasn’t a bore because it was Djokovic.
That’s where Isner has a chance to go, starting Saturday. Some opportunities are merely that. This one is a top rung on the medal podium.
Does he get it? Is there a fire starting to burn in the belly? Or is he already rehearsing his “making it to the semifinals makes this a great tournament for me” speech?
The last U.S. men’s champion at Indian Wells was Agassi in 2001. In the 10-year run-up to that, eight other U.S. men’s players won.
In his post-match interview, Isner said, “I’m not satisfied.” Later, he said he knows he needs “to get tougher.”
Sounds like the pilot light is going on.
bill.dwyre@latimes.com