It's been a great career on the ATP Tour for John Isner which came to an end at the 2023 US Open against Michael Mmoh.
Once the tall American announced his retirement, it couldn't be anywhere else but at Flushing Meadows. After arriving in New York, Isner confirmed that he would be indeed retiring, and there would be no change in his decision.
In his first-round match, the 38-year-old defeated Facundo Diaz Acosta in three sets, but in the second round, he played against a more challenging opponent in his compatriot Michael Mmoh, who knows how to play big matches.
In the first two sets of the match, it seemed that Isner would postpone his retirement by one more match, as he won those sets 6-3 and 6-4, but his opponent was about to stage a comeback in front of the loud New York crowd.
In the third set of the match, Mmoh took it to tie-break, and despite playing hundreds of tie-breaks in his career, Isner couldn't win this one, losing it 3-7 and having to play at least one more set in the match.
But that would be two more sets, when Mmoh broke in the third game of the fourth set, eventually winning it 6-4 and taking the match into the decider, in which both players would have their chances.
Despite no break points being on display in the first nine games, Isner got a chance to end the match in the tenth game of the fifth set. He had one match point, but Mmoh dismissed his chance, taking the match into the super tie-break.
Despite leading 2-0 and 4-2, Isner couldn't serve out the tie-break, eventually losing the match in five sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-7(7). With the last ball, not just the match, but also Isner's career came to an end, and he just couldn't hold back tears as he addressed the crowd after the match.
"It's tough. You know I worked as hard as I could. This is why I worked hard to play in atmospheres like this. Having this support is pretty special, so thank you."
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