With the conclusion of Roland Garros, the grass season has begun, with ATP 250s taking place in Stuttgart and ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
Starting on the 16th of June will be the men’s tournament at Queen’s in London, where Tommy Paul currently holds the crown.
Paul recently withdrew from the tournament, meaning a new champion will hold the trophy aloft on the newly named Andy Murray Arena.
Queen’s has always been a popular warmup tournament ahead of Wimbledon for many, but former American player John Isner says there’s something about the event that he simply couldn’t stand.
John Isner says what he ‘could not stand’ about playing at Queen’s
Speaking on the Nothing Major Podcast, Isner said about the tournaments leading up to Wimbledon: ” I couldn’t stand those grass-court warm-up events. I couldn’t stand the courts.
“The Wimby courts are a lot different from everything else in my mind; they’re very different to the Queen’s club courts.
“The Queen’s courts are way more slippery. I played Queen’s a few times, and I couldn’t move on the courts.
“They also wouldn’t let you practice on the match courts at all before the first ball is hit on the Monday.
“The one year I made semis [at Wimbledon], I didn’t play a warmup [tournament], so for me getting matches in there wasn’t that important.”
John Isner’s record at Queen’s throughout his career
Isner played at Queen’s just four times in his career, and never made it past the quarter-finals.
His first campaign at the event was in 2008, when, after a first-round victory over former Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson, he lost to Nicolas Mahut.
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2017 | First Round |
| 2016 | Second Round |
| 2015 | Quarter-Finals |
| 2008 | Second Round |
It wasn’t until 2015 that the big server returned to the tournament, where he would have his best run, reaching the last eight before bowing out to Viktor Troicki.
He played at Queen’s twice more after that, in 2016 and 2017, where Isner lost in the second round and first round, respectively.
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