The biggest attractions in tennis play on Centre Court, and there’s been none bigger at this year’s Championships than John Isner. So it came as a surprise to see the man of the hour scheduled on Court 5 for his second-rounder against Thiemo de Bakker. Did he need to hit 1,000 aces to earn top billing?
Court 5 was filled an hour before the match began, and the press row, usually quite accommodating, was similarly packed. Photographers swarmed around the sidelines for the best views. There was a buzz in the crowd; they were ready to pay their respects to the man who won the longest match ever. When Isner came into sight, they did, rising to their feet, clapping their hands, and clicking their cameras.
During the warm-up, the All England Club’s decision began to make sense. Clearly exhausted, Isner’s serve looked like it was in slow motion, as if he was serving at 50-all in the fifth. Isner’s camp, which included coach Craig Boynton, the USTA’s Patrick McEnroe and his mother, Karen, looked on quietly.
“He hopes that he recovered mentally and physically,” his mom said. “We’ll see what happens.”
It took just a few minutes to get an answer. Isner’s first serve of the match didn’t look any different from his warm-up deliveries, missing at 104 m.p.h. He still won the point, taking a lead in the match for the only time. He started the second point with a 93-m.p.h. serve, which de Bakker returned with ease. Shortly after, Isner was broken for the first time since Tuesday. It would happen twice more in the opening set, which Isner lost at love in just 16 minutes.
Isner’s serve wasn’t the only thing out of sorts. The American struck 32 unforced errors, or just 20 fewer than he hit in his entire 183-game marathon with Nicolas Mahut. De Bakker’s strategy was simple: keep the ball in play and let Isner do himself in. The former Wimbledon junior champion has been highly touted recently, but we didn’t see much of why Friday with his simple but effective game plan.
“At least he was trying there with the things he could,” de Bakker said of Isner after beating him 6-0, 6-3, 6-2.
After serving 112 aces in the match against Mahut, Isner didn’t hit one against de Bakker. He tried shortening his service motion, but that didn’t work either—it just led to a double fault. The spent Isner couldn’t save himself with his serve like he does so often.
“I was obviously a bit drained,” Isner said afterwards. “I was just low on fuel out there really. Didn’t really have much of a chance.”
As Isner grabbed his bag after the match, he looked relieved. The man who held on for over 11 hours was now done in 74 minutes. Victory is always sweet, but today, defeat wasn’t too bad either.
Ed McGrogan is an assistant editor for TENNIS.com. Follow him on Twitter.