An emotional John Isner survived the first match of his swan-song tournament, beating Argentina’s Facundo Diaz-Acosta 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (1) on Tuesday at the U.S. Open.
“It’s not goodbye yet,” Isner, who is set to retire following the tournament, said after the match in an on-court interview at Louis Armstrong Stadium. “I’m still alive.”
Isner, 38, was surrounded by his wife and four children and some of his University of Georgia friends for the first leg of what might make for a momentous run.
“I think I would have been a bigger mess had I lost, but to have so many friends and family, especially my wife and four kids getting on the court with me, you can’t replicate that and it’s just extremely special,” he said in the post-match press conference.
Now ranked No. 157, the lowest he has been in his 17-year career, Isner has toiled through a lost era for U.S. men.
No American man has won a U.S. Open singles final since Andy Roddick at the age of 21 in 2003.
“That would be amazing,” Isner said of the possibility of going on a run in his final tournament. “I typically play better after I win my first match. The first one is the hardest for me. … So, if I can get my body felling pretty good in two days, I think I should be tough to beat. I would love to keep his going, of course, as long as I can.”
He reached his career-best ranking of No. 8 after making the Wimbledon semifinals in 2018, playing in the fourth-longest tennis match in history. He was also a part of the longest match in history against France’s Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010. It lasted 11 hours and five minutes across three days before he won in five sets.
Isner still owns one of the best serves in the game, which he used to capture 16 singles titles and tally 14,411 aces, an ATP record.
Diaz-Acosta came to learn the effects of that serve quickly.
After cruising through his first two sets, Isner slowed down in the third, going toe-to-toe with the 22-year-old, who scored an ace and forced a wide shot from Isner to lead 6-5. But Isner’s serve kept him in the game. He tied the third set 6-6, and won the tiebreaker 7-1, due to poor returns and netted shots from Diaz-Acosta.
“Very happy with how I played,” Isner said. “Very happy it didn’t go into a fourth set. Three-set match, two-and-a-half hours, you know that’s pretty long. [It’s] sneaky kind of hot and humid here this week so far. Sweating a lot and conditions aren’t that easy. I saw Ons struggling with it a little bit on that court but I had the better time to play when it was full of shade.
“As big as I am, I sweat a lot. It takes a lot out of you so I’m very happy to be through and reset.”
On Thursday, Isner will enter the second round against fellow American Michael Mmoh, who beat No. 11 Karen Khachanov in three straight sets.
“I’m a big fan of Michael, great guy, and he’s really come into his own this year,” Isner said. “Playing another American in the U.S. Open, it should make for a very cool atmosphere. Just looking forward to the match. I believe I can win for sure, and he believes he can win so we’ll see who the better man is.”