Isner helps make case for college

TENNIS

Pro tennis or college? That question may not be loaded with minefields after what John Isner did last week in Washington, D.C.

No, big John (tall John might be more appropriate) didn't stage a filibuster against the majority of tennis scholarships going to international players.

If you missed it on ESPN, Isner pushed Andy Roddick hard in Sunday's final of the Legg Mason tournament. The fact Isner was even in the final was the story of the week in professional tennis.

You see, Isner was leading the University of Georgia to a national tennis championship just a couple of months ago. For former Roddick/Andre Agassi coach and now ESPN analyst Darren Cahill to say Isner's game looked like he had been on the pro tour for five years was filibuster material for the pro-college element.

To see this 6-9 Greensboro, N.C., product playing and looking like a veteran and a future top-10 player was the Isner way of emphasizing that college tennis isn't a gamble, but a plus. If for some reason his play in Washington wasn't the real Isner, he always can fall back on his degree in speech communications.

Better hurry, Donald

Donald Young had better hurry . . . if he wants to stay ahead of Isner in the race to become America's next great men's tennis star after Roddick. While Isner was upsetting the likes of Tim Henman, Benjamin Becker, Tommy Haas and Gael Monfils, as well as playing to a national television audience and winning lavish praise from ESPN's announcers, Wimbledon junior champion Young was losing to 19-year-old American Sam Querrey in a $100,000 tournament in Vancouver.

The Washington tournament was only Isner's second pro level event. He won the other one, a $50,000 tournament in Lexington, Ky., and also had won a $15,000 satellite event prior to that.

Isner may turn out to be the best really tall guy on the tour, replacing 6-10 Ivo Karlovic who fell to Roddick in the Legg Mason semifinals. Isner not only has a huge serve, his groundstrokes can't be ignored. He moves quite well. He also has excellent court savvy and instincts.

And where did this 22-year-old develop all of this? College tennis. He's mature, smart and has a future, even if tennis fails.

Local notes

--Kiawah Island has come up with a unique tournament that should be a big hit. The Southern Open Sibling Clay Court Championships are scheduled for Sept. 14-16. The combinations are brother/brother, sister/sister and brother/sister in open divisions as well as 18-and-under.

Participants can play in two events. For information, contact Kiawah pro Jonathan Barth (768-2706 or barth_jonathan@kiawahresort.com).

--The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Trident Area's second annual Club Cup Tennis Tournament was postponed last weekend due to inclement weather and will be rescheduled for after Labor Day, according to coordinator Bridget Bettelli.

The tournament, which was scheduled to be played at the I'On Club, the Players Club, and Creekside Tennis and Swim, has teams consisting of a minimum of eight men and eight women, with the men's divisions from 3.0-4.5 and the women from 2.5-4.0. For information, contact Bettelli (937-6487 or bbettelli@bgclubta.org).

--Snee Farm Country Club is planning to hold another of its popular Grand Prix events from Sept. 11-17. Matches in the Tuesday-Sunday tournament will be played at 6 p.m. or later.

The entry deadline is Sept. 7. For information, contact Cherry (884-3252 or christy.cherry@sneefarmcc.com).

--Family Circle Tennis Center will hold a free tennis Block Party on Aug. 18 from 9 a.m. to noon. There will be a morning of free tennis fun for kids and adult that includes music, games, drills, contests, a tennis carnival, "Hit & Get", adult tennis zone, raffles and prizes as well as tours of the entire facility. No registration is necessary.

Reach James Beck at jdbeck@postandcourier.com or (843) 937-5540.