He certainly doesn’t make it easy. Does he?
But then again, no matter how long of a match, John Isner is coming out on top at this year’s US Open. This time beating Dustin Lajovic, 7-6(8) 6-7(6) 6-3 7-5 to advance to the Round of 16.
“It was a tough match,” Isner said. “Every time I’ve played him, it’s always been tough. I expected that tonight. But I’m happy to get through in four sets. I was out there for more than three hours. It was a pretty long match. All in all, I think physically I feel pretty good, so that’s a good sign going forward.”
And good for American tennis. Isner seems to be the last man standing here as the tournament goes along, unlike the women, who have a number of contenders left.
Isner knows that he is the candle bearer, too.
“They’re better,” he said “Their results have proven that. Some of us break through and win a bunch of slams… None of us are going to win 20-some slams like Serena. On the American side of things, the women’s side has so many good players. Two legends still going right now, then Sloane and Madison right behind them.
“The women. As I said, rightfully so.”
But still Isner plays on and now faces Canada’s best hope in Milos Raonic for a berth in the Quarterfinals.
“I haven’t really seen him play, but I’ve seen his results,” he said. “He seems to be playing very well. I think back to his level of a few years past. I mean, I have the utmost respect for him. I think he’s an excellent player, he’s proved that his whole career.
“It will be a tough match certainly. We’ve played a handful of times. Matches between us are inherently close, as you can imagine. But we’ll see what happens.”
You don’t know but it’s a good bet it will be a long match.
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