Help
7/21/10 7:31 AM | Ricky Dimon
John Isner will play his first match since his record-breaking epic at Wimbledon when he takes the court on Wednesday in Atlanta. His second-round opponent is Gilles Muller.
Almost one month later, John Isner is ready to put his Wimbledon fame behind him.
"It’s getting a little bit...I don’t want to say annoying...but I’ve just answered an awful lot of questions about it," Isner said of his 11-hour and five-minute win over Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history. "I want to put it behind me. I think after my match tomorrow here maybe the questions will be focused more on that match and the rest of the tournament."
In order for there to be a "rest of the tournament" for Isner, he will have to get past Gilles Muller on Wednesday evening in the second round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships. This will be the first career encounter between the two players.
Speaking of long stretches of time on the tennis court, Muller will be playing for the fifth consecutive day when he goes up against Isner. The 206th-ranked Luxembourgian won three qualifying matches to get into the main draw, then outlasted Michal Przysiezny 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) in round one on Tuesday.
Isner, by contrast, has not played an ATP match since Wimbledon. The 6'9'' American earned a first-round by as Atlanta's No. 2 seed, but he is now ready to continue a stellar 2010 campaign that has been overshadowed by that one match. Isner is 24-15 for the season with one title (Auckland), a runner-up finish (Memphis), and a fourth-round showing at the Australian Open. He is up to No. 19 in the world, just one spot off his career high.
It remains to be seen if the Wimbledon marathon will have any lasting effects on Isner's physicality, but Muller also might not be 100 percent after his past few days. All things being equal, Isner owns a bigger serve than the big-serving Muller and should be able to win more free points. Furthermore, Isner will enjoy healthy crowd support not only because of his Wimbledon heroics, but also as a former University of Georgia star.
Look for the fan favorite to edge Muller in two tight sets.
Find the latest tennis odds at Unibet.com
Tell a friend »
Scan QR code to access Unibet mobile.
Bet on Sports wherever you are and whenever you like, with Unibet's quick and simple mobile client you can place bets, check results and see live odds.
For more info about QR codes & scanners click here.
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2012, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
