How is it physically possible to win an 11 hour and five minute match?
John Isner will give you a clue.
The winner of the historic 11 hour, five minute 70-68 fifth set Wimbledon marathon over Nicolas Mahut recently sat down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Harry Cicma, the host of the television show WORLD TENNIS WITH HARRY CICMA and discussed his training methods at the Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, Fla. Isner credits Saddlebrook and its coach Craig Boynton to his improved fitness and rise into the top 20 of the ATP World Tour rankings.
”I owe all (my improvements) to Craig and the great trainers at Saddlebrook,” Isner tells Cicma. “I have everything at my disposal here – the tennis, the gym, the field. It’s everything an athlete could ever ask for. It’s the perfect training ground for me.”
To view the entire interview and to have a look at Isner in the gym, watch the segment here:
The interview will be part of the upcoming July showing of WORLD TENNIS, the second-year, 30-minute tennis television show that airs on the New England Sports Network (NESN).
Cicma reports for NBC Sports/NBCSports.com and was previously the sports anchor and main producer at NBC in Providence, R.I., CBS in Springfield, Mass., and ABC in Sioux City, Iowa. He is the co-founder and host/producer of “NESN-TV’s World Tennis with Harry Cicma,” “Comcast SportsNet Boston’s World Team Tennis Show” and has also served as a commentator for other networks including Fox Sports Net and Tennis Channel. Cicma is the Television voice of World Team Tennis and did play-by-play for the U.S. Open tennis championship’s World Television feed. A former ATP world-ranked doubles player, he was also a standout Big East tennis player at Rutgers University.
The Saddlebrook Resort (www.Saddlebrook.com), located just 30 minutes north of the Tampa International airport, offers an ideal, award-winning resort setting with luxury accommodations and facilities for corporate events, meetings and conferences, spa getaways, family reunions, kids camps, and Florida golf and tennis vacations. Its facilities include year-round golf at two 18-hole Arnold Palmer Signature Courses, 45 tennis courts in every grand slam surface, a European Style Spa, and five premier dining and restaurant options. As a world renowned professional training center for many sports, its tennis academy, originally started by the legendary Australian coach Harry Hopman, is the training ground for such tennis superstars as Isner, James Blake, Mardy Fish, and the Bryan Brothers, who call Saddlebrook Resort their preferred training center.
Sponsors of the 2010 season of WORLD TENNIS include Tournagrip (www.uniquesports.com), Ace Authentic (www.aceauthentic.com), Grand Slam Tennis Tours (www.GrandSlamTennisTours.com), the International Tennis Hall of Fame (www.tennisfame.com), Morfit Performance fitness apparel (www.MorfitPerformance.com), Rouge Vodka (www.RougeVodka.com), K3 Tennis (www.K3Tennis.com), the Peter Kaplan Tennis Academy (www.WesthamptonTennis.com), State Ultra Lounge (www.StateUltraLounge.com) and New Chapter Media (www.NewChapterMedia.com.)