Both Pete Sampras and Roger Federer were superb servers, but John McEnroe thinks there was someone better.
A top serve is obviously an important skill set in tennis, and one that can often win narrow matches on its own.
Many of the greats have gone down in history thanks to their overall game, but the likes of Sampras and Federer were a class above in terms of serving alone.
Croatian Ivo Karlovic is another to have shone in that area of the game, which has made the headlines in recent times.
Jack Draper hit a personal record of 31 aces against Frances Tiafoe at the Stuttgart Open, with the Briton going on to win the title last month.
John McEnroe makes John Isner serving claim
American star Ben Shelton meanwhile hit the fastest serve ever at Wimbledon, with his 153mph shot against Lloyd Harris in round two breaking the record.
But it is another American who tennis legend McEnroe has labelled the best server, having been tasked with creating the perfect player for BBC’s 6-Love-6.
“Best server? To me the best server ever was Isner,” said McEnroe. “He had the best serve ever. He didn’t have the other stuff to back it up, like Federer, who served incredible.”
Why was John Isner so good at serving?
Isner retired from tennis after the 2023 US Open at the age of 38, having won 16 ATP Tour titles throughout his career.
The American may not have clinched a Grand Slam title, but his serving levels remain unparalleled to this day.
As per the official ATP Tour website, Isner tops the list for aces, with 14,470 recorded from his 772 matches.
Standing at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 metres), his huge frame was key to his phenomenal serving success, with Isner also topping the ATP Tour serve leader list.
John Isner smashes 112 aces at Wimbledon 2010
With a serve rating of 312, Isner averaged 18.7 aces per match, won 78.8% of his first serve points, and 91.8% of his service games.
Those figures were key to Isner finishing inside the Top 20 of the world rankings for 10 consecutive years from 2010-2019, while he also ended the year as the number one American on eight occasions.
Wimbledon fans will, of course, remember the towering American for his unforgettable 2010 battle with Nicolas Mahut.
Isner smashed 112 aces in the round one encounter, which at 11 hours and five minutes is the longest match in history.
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