Hey Everyone:

 I’ve been in Cincinnati for several days and I’m writing to you here before my first match of the tournament, which is this morning at 11 a.m. I’m playing and Italian named Andrea Stoppini in the first round.  I’ve never played him before, but I know he’s a good player. He’s won a lot of matches recently and he obviously had a good win in qualifying when he beat Arnaud Clement, who is a very experienced, tough player. (more…)

Since his second-round loss to Tommy Haas in Indianapolis last week, Tennis Week.com guest blogger John Isner has been busy on the practice court with new coach Kelly Jones. John will try to qualify for Cincinnati this week and then continue his U.S. Open Series trek in Los Angeles, Washington, DC and New Haven. In this new blog entry, John recounts his Rocky moment with new coach Kelly Jones. (more…)

Tennis Week.com guest blogger John Isner hit 23 aces and saved all 11 break points he faced in Tuesday afternoon’s 7-5, 6-3 victory over Robert Kendrick in the opening round of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships. The victory vaults John into the spotlight for tonight’s 7 p.m. Stadium Court match against fifth-seeded Tommy Haas.

John saved match points to beat Haas, 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 in the round of 16 at San Jose earlier in February. That win came six months after he smacked 30 aces in a 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(5) quarterfinal victory over the former World No. 2 in Washington, DC last August.

“At San Jose, I had three match points in a row and couldn’t close it out,” Haas said after scoring a straight-sets win over American Jesse Levine yesterday. “You have to be really patient and hold your serve and deal with him hitting some unbelievable serves.”

In this blog entry, John discusses tonight’s match, his partnership with new coach Kelly Jones, dinner conversation with Tampa neighbor James Blake, what game kept him up late last night and responds to a readers question on how he squeezes his 6-foot-9 frame into hotel room beds. Please feel free to post your questions or comments for John at the bottom of the blog. (more…)

His court side chair is not a rocking chair, he represents the ATP rather than the AARP, approaching the one-year anniversary of his breakthrough tournament in Washington, DC he’s hardly a senior statesman on court and at the age of 23 he’s still young enough to get carded in some states yet John Isner has already made his mark as an established tennis grandparent.

The Greensboro, NC native’s methodical manner off court earned him a unique nickname in college: Grandpa. (more…)

This blog was initially posted in January and is reposted here to commemorate Tennis Week founder and publisher Gene Scott’s induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. in Newport, Rhode Island. The ceremony will be televised live on Tennis Channel. If you’re in Newport, please stop by and say hello. All Gene Scott images here courtesy of Polly Scott.

He doesn’t carry the standard credentials — Grand Slam championships and a top 10 ranking — that are the typical prerequisites for securing a place in Newport, but in my mind Gene Scott, the late, great Tennis Week founder and publisher, has a resume as worthy as any of the legendary champions in the Hall of Fame, which is why it is so fitting and fulfilling to see Gene, his friend, the late IMG founder Mark McCormack, as well as former French Open champion Michael Chang form the list of inductees into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday. (more…)

The day-long dramatic duel waged on into near-darkness through multiple rain delays into the record books as the longest men’s final in Wimbledon history.

In the end, Rafael Nadal endured the rain and a remarkably resilient reigning champion Roger Federer and took his shot at history on the rise ripping yet another ferocious forehand and realizing his dream lying flat on his back as a Centre Court stadium full of flashbulbs lit up the sky. (more…)