31 August 2023 , 21:27
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Tennis star John Isner has called time on his singles career after being knocked out of the US Open in the first round. The 38-year-old was reduced to tears after falling to a narrow five-set defeat, 6-3 6-4 6-7 (7-3) 4-6 6-7 (10-7), against world No. 112 Michael Mmoh.
Isner will still play in the doubles in Flushing Meadows with fellow American Jack Sock, with the pair taking to Court 12 later this evening. The North Carolina-born tennis star announced that he would retire from singles tennis ahead of the tournament and was seen holding back tears on the Grandstand court after the match.
When asked to describe his emotions following the defeat, a visibly upset Isner said: "Yea it's tough," which was greeted by a rapturous applause from the spectators watching on. "You know, I like to think I work as hard as I can..." he added before struggling to continue.
"This is why I have worked as hard as I have my whole life, you know. Playing atmospheres like this and, of course I may not win them all as we know, just like today but playing in front of this crowd and to have the support I had it's pretty special, so thank you."
Isner's final singles match saw him start strongly against Mmoh after going two sets up. His 25-year-old opponent began to grow into the match and capitalise on Isner's fatigue.
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Mmoh won the third set vid a tiebreaker before claiming the fourth 6-4. The deciding set was also decided by a crucial tiebreaker which saw Mmoh set up a third-round clash against Britain's Jack Draper next.
Despite the result, Isner can look back on an impressive career. The 6-foot-10 star managed to win 16 career titles since turning professional back in 2007 and reached his highest rank of world No. 14 in July last year.
Isner's most famous match came back in the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships against Nicola Mahut. The pair's clash lasted an incredible 11 hours and five minutes over the course of three days. Eventually, Isner won the clash 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68 in the longest match in tennis history - a record that will never be broken after changes to the tie-break rules.
The American's highest Grand Slam finishes came when he reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2018 and the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2011 and 2018. Isner also enjoyed a long doubles career where he managed to reach the 2009 Australian Open quarterfinals alongside Mardy Fish.
Isner's next match will see him and Jack Sock face Albano Olivetti and Robert Galloway in the first round of the US Open doubles.