Exclusive: Five minutes with Newport champion Isner

At the start of the Hall of Fame Open in Newport, RI, it was tough to gauge where John Isner’s game stood. He had played just one event since returning from a stress fracture in his left foot that flared up in the Miami Open final, falling in the second round of Wimbledon.

On Sunday, Isner answered that question with positive authority, defeating Alexander Bublik, 7-6(2), 6-3, to capture his fourth title at the grass-court event.

Baseline caught up with the world No. 14 afterwards to talk about managing his expectations, having daughter Hunter Grace present for the trophy presentation and his recent social media game.

It looked like you could easily have been down a set in Sunday’s final. Looking back, how critical was that eight-point run you went on in breaking back and taking a commanding lead in the tiebreaker?

That was a very important stretch. I was not feeling great physically—very well could have lost that set 7-5 and then I’m fighting uphill from there. But I was able to turn that around and played a great tiebreaker, which I’ve done a lot in my career. I gained a lot of confidence after that.

Given the strong connection you’ve made with Newport throughout the years, if you were asked to pitch the destination to prospective visitors, what would you say?

If you’re a fan of not just tennis, but sports, you should come visit this amazing place. From walking through the Hall of Fame to watching this great tennis event to walking around town, you can really enjoy this city. Go on the mansion tours or enjoy a day on the boat. There’s so much happening here, especially in the summer.

When you suffer a difficult injury like the one that sidelined you in Miami, how do you keep your expectations in check? Especially knowing that Newport is the start of what’s been the most crucial swing for your brand of tennis.

After I hurt my foot, it was a tough pill to swallow. I haven’t had an injury like that really in my entire career. I was just telling myself that I’ve been really fortunate in my career to have stayed healthy, being such a big guy. A lot of that is because of how well I take care of myself.

I went into Wimbledon with no expectations and no practice at all. I didn’t do that great, but still gained confidence from the tournament knowing I was healthy. That was the most important thing. I wanted to get confidence in my foot again—to go out there, play and move like I was in Miami before I got hurt. I’ve accomplished that so it’s a perfect start to my summer right now.

During your time away with the injury, you uploaded your second baby reveal on social media in May. Was this planned well in advance or came about when your schedule changed following Miami?

We were actually planning it before the injury. We just had to get the tennis balls with the pink and blue powder. We assigned one person only to look at the email and put the right ball in my hand before I served it. We invited a lot of friends out and it turned out to be such a great event. Needless to say, I was a little excited.

Your daughter, Hunter Grace, wins the prize for bubbliest baby at a trophy ceremony. How meaningful was it to share your fourth Newport trophy with her on court?

That was the best moment of the day by far. It was not winning the tournament, but sharing that moment with my wife and daughter. I saw the video of it and she was smiling the whole time, putting her hands on the trophy. It was just so cute. Those are moments that I will seriously remember forever.

Ahead of the Wimbledon semifinals between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, you created a Twitter poll asking who would win. What inspired you to do this, given Instagram is normally your preferred platform?

I actually don’t tweet that much about tennis. But there’s going to come a time when these legends aren’t playing each other anymore. As fans of tennis in general, I feel we need to soak in these moments and realize how amazing of an era we’re witnessing right now.