When John Isner wasn’t picked to play Davis Cup, this freed him to play Newport.  This year and last, John Isner was eliminated in the second round of Wimbledon.  Last year, it was after a marathon match with Nicolas Mahut when he faced Thiemo de Bakker who also had a long match, but clearly not history making.  This year, the match was much shorter, but the opponent was tougher.  Isner had to face Nicolas Almagro and couldn’t break serve.

Clearly his 2011 doesn’t match 2010.  In 2010, Isner won his first tournament in Auckland.  He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open.  He reached the finals of Memphis, then of Belgrade.  He reached the third round of the French Open.  He reached the finals of Atlanta.  This year, his accomplishments haven’t been as good, and his ranking has slipped to about 40 in the world, meaning he wasn’t seeded at the French Open or at Wimbledon.  It meant he faced Rafa in the first round of Paris, and despite pushing Rafa to his only 5-setter at the French, a loss was still a loss.

Because Newport is placed the week after Wimbledon, few good players actually play Newport.  If the top players aren’t resting (like Nadal) and healing, then they are playing Davis Cup (like Fish and Roddick).  This makes Newport a great opportunity for players that are ranked a little lower to get an ATP 250 win.  When Queen’s, another ATP 250 event, can draw Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic, and Newport can barely get talent, it’s great for anyone seeking to break through.

Because the rankings are so low, the top seed often doesn’t win.  Indeed, the top seed hasn’t won Newport in decades.

What about Mardy Fish?  Turns out he was ranked 79th last year at Newport and was the fifth seed.

This year, Mardy Fish was selected to play Davis Cup, so he didn’t participate in Newport.  Instead, John Isner asked for a wild card.  It allowed him to meet up with Nicolas Mahut once again, although this time, they did not play each other.

Isner had 5 solid matches to win this.  He beat Karol Beck, veteran Arnaud Clement (who beat Ryan Harrison), Alex Bogomolov Jr. (who reached the third round of Wimbledon), Tobias Kamke, and finally beat Oliver Rochus, who was last year’s finalist at Newport.

Indeed, people have noted that this may be the greatest height differential in a final with John Isner at 6’9″ and Oliver Rochus at 5’5″.  If you put Maria Sharapova in between the two, she would be close in height to John Isner than to Rochus.  Of course, that says something about how tall Sharapova is, as well as how short Rochus is.

With this win, Isner is now in the top 40, and just needs a few good wins to move into the top 35 where he is likely to be seeded at the US Open.  He claimed it was the best serving he’s had in some time.  Perhaps this will give him confidence heading into the US Open series.