Johnny Mac : the big four should fear Isner

[Tammo]

I think Isner is undeestimated on his BH and return. When he beat Fed, he ended the match with 3 return winners. I think he has realized that he can't just try to get the ball back in play.

[batz]

Originally Posted by VOLLEY KING

did you notice the commentator say "yet another serve and volley"?

Isner isn't an S&V player mate - he just isn't.

I could post some vids of Murray doing S&V - but he isn't a S&V player either.

[BeHappy]

Originally Posted by VOLLEY KING

it was good enough against Roger Federer on red clay and five tough sets against Nadal on red clay.....isner did better against Nadal than Fed.

He loses more points than he wins when the ball comes back from one of his serves.

When you add them up though, it's like 40% of points won with his serve alone that leaves 60% of points on his serve: Well he loses 40% when the ball comes back, but still wins 20% of those rallies and 20% plus the 40% of serves is 60% and gets him over the line. All he needs is one mini break in the tie break and he wins the set.

Make no mistake though, he is nowhere near being a competent volleyer.

[VOLLEY KING]

Originally Posted by Jonny S&V

...you do know that all-courters S&V right? Or are you that dense?

no need for the dense comment.

Of course I know that...Im a serve and volleyer.

Its a tough dostinction to make.

For example was Pete Sampras a serve and volleyer or an all courter?

..

[Jonny S&V]

Originally Posted by VOLLEY KING

no need for the dense comment.

Of course I know that...Im a serve and volleyer.

Its a tough dostinction to make.

For example was Pete Sampras a serve and volleyer or an all courter?

It doesn't matter what Pete was. It doesn't back-up your assertion that a commentator saying "yet another serve and volley" makes a player a S&Ver since S&Vers, all-courters, heck, even counterpunchers and baseliners all S&V.

[VOLLEY KING]

Originally Posted by Jonny S&V

It doesn't matter what Pete was. It doesn't back-up your assertion that a commentator saying "yet another serve and volley" makes a player a S&Ver since S&Vers, all-courters, heck, even counterpunchers and baseliners all S&V.

I never said thats what makes him a serve and volleyer.....all im saying its a tough distinction to make.

I used Pete Sampras as an example to illustrate just how hard it is to make the distiction.

[VOLLEY KING]

Originally Posted by BeHappy

Make no mistake though, he is nowhere near being a competent volleyer.

with a serve like that he doesnt need to be. he just has to be average.

[batz]

Originally Posted by VOLLEY KING

with a serve like that he doesnt need to be. he just has to be average.

Nope - because when he plays a top returner he struggles a bit - hence his 0-7 record v Noel/Rafa/Murray.

[monfed]

On a given day he can potentially cause an upset. It's another thing that he doesn't.

[VOLLEY KING]

Originally Posted by batz

Nope - because when he plays a top returner he struggles a bit - hence his 0-7 record v Noel/Rafa/Murray.

We shall see tonight!

[batz]

Originally Posted by VOLLEY KING

We shall see tonight!

No we won't - it's not until tomorrow

BTW - I'm not saying he can't beat Noel or Rafa or Murray - I'm just saying they make it tough for him because of their return.

[VOLLEY KING]

Originally Posted by batz

No we won't - it's not until tomorrow

BTW - I'm not saying he can't beat Noel or Rafa or Murray - I'm just saying they make it tough for him because of their return.

Crap. I thought it was tonight. What time Tommorow

Those guys make it tough for everyone. Having said that Isner almost beat
Nadal at the FO in five sets and was leading 2-1

I think the scores were

Nadal - 6-4,6-7,6-7,6-2, 6-4

[mattennis]

He should do serve and volley more, given his height and swingspan.

He is not a serve and volley player. He does it maybe 5-10 % of the times with his serves. That is not a serve and volley player.

Have you ever watched complete matches of him?

[achokshi99]

Isner is by far the most dangerous player on the tour because of his serve and pacing. He is like Sampras in that he really paces/conserves his energy and decides when to crank it up. He is very methodical and strategic in knowing when to slow the game down in terms of just between points. Plus, just watch the guy in big matches, there are some people that just mentally have a clutch aspect that comes out during pressure moments.

Yeah Isner can look very mediocre, doesnt move like a lot of players, and can be lumbering but he doesn't seem to fold mentally/beat himself in those big situations. Guys like Berdych, Sod, Tsonga, Monfils...nice power hitters that are still easily read by the big 4 for the most part. Except for Tsonoga, those guys have a plan A = their plan b, c, d. I have seen Isner play a fair amount, one of the worst guys to watch cause of the slow types of matches but he does adjust and as soon as the opponents get a little rhytm, Isner starts taking longer time between serves, towel breaks on court. All within the rules too.

[batz]

Originally Posted by VOLLEY KING

Crap. I thought it was tonight. What time Tommorow

Those guys make it tough for everyone. Having said that Isner almost beat
Nadal at the FO in five sets and was leading 2-1

I think the scores were

Nadal - 6-4,6-7,6-7,6-2, 6-4

1100 Local Time

Nobody is saying Isner isn't a tough player - I like the guy; in fact I like to see all American players do well, but he's just missing something to be able to make it to the very top IMO. Can be top 10 this year though - no doubt about that.

[VOLLEY KING]

Originally Posted by batz

1100 Local Time

Nobody is saying Isner isn't a tough player - I like the guy; in fact I like to see all American players do well, but he's just missing something to be able to make it to the very top IMO. Can be top 10 this year though - no doubt about that.

He may be a late bloomer like Joker.

He did just beat Roger Federer. That's huge.

Maybe now he believes he can win.

[kaku]

He is a 1-9 versus the top 4. He's a dangerous player, and has challenged members of the big four before, pushing rafa to 5 at RG, djokovic to 5 in DC in 2010, Murray to 4 at the USO, and beating Fed recently. However, I don't see him anything more than an occasional upset over the top 4 simply because a big serve and a big forehand alone is not enough to consistently beat guys who do virtually everything well.

[Juan Ma Del Pony]

Nobody wants to see Izzy in their part of the draw. They'd take Karlovic over Izzy any day. Izzy has ground game in addition to that serve. His BH has improved by leaps and bounds as well, I've never seen him hit BH return winners like what he did to Federer in Davis Cup and Simon last night.

He will be dangerous in RG so long as he avoids dog-fights in the first few rounds. Once you drain Izzy with the five-setters in R2 and R3, he's toast when he meets the seeded players. If Izzy plays smart and gets to R4 without losing too many sets, I would be VERY AFRAID to play him at that point, if i were a Top 5-8 ranked player.

[VOLLEY KING]

Originally Posted by kaku

He is a 1-9 versus the top 4. He's a dangerous player, and has challenged members of the big four before, pushing rafa to 5 at RG, djokovic to 5 in DC in 2010, Murray to 4 at the USO, and beating Fed recently. However, I don't see him anything more than an occasional upset over the top 4 simply because a big serve and a big forehand alone is not enough to consistently beat guys who do virtually everything well.

Human behavior is funny...they tend to label people and its very hard to get out of that label.

Players and people evolve....

not so long ago Nadal was only a "clay court specialist" , Djokovic was known as Chokeavic andquit matches.....

I think Isner made a breakthrough beating Federer.

Mcenroe was right.....the big 4 need to be afraid,.....very afraid.

[kaku]

Originally Posted by VOLLEY KING

Human behavior is funny...they tend to label people and its very hard to get out of that label.

Players and people evolve....

not so long ago Nadal was only a "clay court specialist" , Djokovic was known as Chokeavic andquit matches.....

I think Isner made a breakthrough beating Federer.

Mcenroe was right.....the big 4 need to be afraid,.....very afraid.

We'll see how Isner fares tomorrow. I think he will take a set and if he wants to beat Djokovic he has to take his chances. Djokovic isn't at 100% yet, so the time is ripe for Isner.