Isner talks mental toughness after Wimbledon marathon

John Isner knows a thing or two about mental toughness. The 33-year-old has been part of two of the longest matches in tennis history, and he shared his insights after having some time to reflect on his latest one.

Earlier this month, the world No. 9 lost to Kevin Anderson in the Wimbledon semifinals,  7-6 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-7 (9), 6-4, 26-24. The match, taking 6 hours and 35 minutes to complete, is the third-longest in tennis history. While physically, the ordeal was grueling for both players and a testament to their stamina, mentally it was just as exhausting.

"The mental game is certainly not something you can really see," Isner said in a phone conference. "It's definitely an intangible aspect out there on the court. We work so hard on the physical side of things to make sure that we're in good enough shape to withstand long matches, withstand matches in pretty rough heat."

While the Anderson match was impressive, it's far from Isner's longest time spent on court. In 2010, also at Wimbledon, he battled across 11 hours, three days and 183 games to win 70-68 in the fifth over Nicolas Mahut.

"The mental side of things, pretty much in all sports, in my opinion, is more important," Isner said. "Of course, as I said, you have to take care of the physical side of things. You have to be able to perform out there athletically.

"But once you have that buttoned up, being mentally strong, being able to get yourself in a good frame of mind in the most critical moments of a match helps so much."

The mental challenges continues long after the last ball is struck, as Isner had to regroup and recover emotionally after the draining Anderson match, which marked his first major semifinal. Isner quickly returned stateside to prepare for Atlanta.

"I think I have done a pretty good job of hitting that reset button," he said. "I went home to North Carolina immediately after that match for two days, just was with my family, my niece and nephew, playing with them, and getting some practice, as I'm going to have a kid in September."

Isner is expecting his first child, a daughter, with his wife, Madison McKinley. The couple married in December.

The 13-time ATP champion has won the Atlanta Open a staggering four times. It helps that it's played close to his college home, the University of Georgia.

"Look, right here in Atlanta, I'm not thinking about that Wimbledon match," Isner said. "Of course, I was thinking about it for at least 48 hours afterwards. Right now it's a distant memory."

On Wednesday, the top seed began his bid for a fifth crown with a 6-3, 6-2 over youngster Alex de Minaur, showing no signs of lingering Wimbledon fatigue—either physical or mental.