John Isner, his 2011 French Open performance and why he’s just as good on clay as he is on grass. Keshav Gopalan Follow Jan 10, 2018 · 4 min read

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Subdued applause, followed by a roar from John Isner. The 6 feet, 10 inches tall American had broken Rafael Nadal to get the set back on serve. Up until this juncture, Nadal looked pristine. There was little that was going wrong in his game and he was up a set and a break in the second.

John Isner had different plans that day. He clinched the next two sets in a tiebreak to gain a two sets to one lead over the Spaniard. While the Spaniard went on to win the match in 5 sets, it was the first time Nadal was pushed to 5 sets.

Isner’s impressive clay record doesn’t stop there. He beat Roger Federer in their Davis Cup tie in 2012 in four tight sets in front of an overwhelmingly Swiss crowd. He’s also scalped wins off Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on clay.

I digress. Wins over players don’t matter too much in the grand scheme of things as there are so many facets to consider. So let’s consider these. Isner has a giant serve. Isner moves poorly, has an underwhelming forehand and backhand. His reaction times are relatively poor. He’s a good volleyer and has a good grip of the game. Now most fans of the sport and even keen observers would declare that Isner’s game is built for grass courts simply because he’s an excellent server and a good volleyer. Isner’s game is a textbook example of first strike tennis. And while they’re not completely wrong, many people don’t consider the fact that Isner’s playing style suits clay more than grass. However, Isner is someone I’d absolutely consider to be an all surface player. Crazy, right?

Not really. He’s said it himself. Multiple times.

Isner posing with his only clay court title, won in Houston (2013)

Consider this: Isner’s only top ten win on grass was against Janko Tipservic in the London Olympics. He’s had four top ten wins on clay. He’s reached the fourth round of the French Open twice but hasn’t yet done the same in Wimbledon.

Why?

Clay is a slow surface with a high bounce. It’s easier on the knees and is much easier to slide on to get to an otherwise “un-gettable” ball. The slowness of clay allows Isner to get to balls he usually couldn’t get. This aspect of clay is universal for most, but the magnitude of difference for Isner is monumental. This also means that Isner gets away with his slow reaction times while receiving the opponents serve.

But the most important one is the bounce. The ball bounces much higher on clay, which helps Isner with how he hits his groundstrokes. Remember, Isner is 6"10 (208 Cms). He needs to bend more than your average tennis player to hit a shot. With clay, the high bounce helps him hit shots with better form, accuracy and power as the height is optimal.

Isner during the 2011 French Open. Notice the higher clearance and better positioning.

Isner playing in Wimbledon. Comparatively low clearance.

The benefits of the higher bounce don’t end there. Isner has a giant serve, and while the serve might be slower, it doesn’t mean it’s not effective. Isner’s height and the high bounce means his serves, especially second serves tend to be very high. This makes things very difficult for his opponent. This was evident in the 2012 Davis Cup match against Federer. Watch:

2012 USA vs Switzerland Davis Cup Tie

Another thing that’s overlooked is that his footwork and positioning on clay is significantly better.

Conclusion

Isner is just as good on clay as he is on grass. On a personal level, I agree more with the fact that Isner is a better on clay than he is on grass. What do you think?