John Isner Keeps Smiling as He Ascends the Ranks KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - The pro-wrestling fan and tennis player John Isner knows what his character should be were he ever to take to the ring. "Being so big, I would have to be some sort of scary-like, villain-type of person," said Isner, who is 6 feet 9 inches. I've sort of always pulled for the heels, like the bad guys. So I think if I were a pro wrestler, first I'd need to bulk up, and second I'll need to get sort of a bad-boy persona. But Isner's presence on the tennis court makes his villainy something of a stretch, as shown by the warm round of applause he received for handing a dented racket to a child on Friday during his first match at the Sony Ericsson Open. Isner's recent results have also made him something of a hero to American tennis. With a run to the final of last week's BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., which included a semifinal victory over top-ranked Novak Djokovic, Isner cracked the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time. Isner lost the final to No. 3 Roger Federer, whom he had defeated for the United States during a crucial Davis Cup match in Switzerland last month. Already the only man outside the top four (Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Federer, Andy Murray) to have two wins over members of that group in 2012, Isner, now No. 10, could pass eighth-ranked Mardy Fish to become the highest-ranked American when the next rankings come out. Isner credited much of his positive attitude and lack of any hint of petulance on court to spending his formative tennis years in the collegiate ranks, where he became the top-ranked college player in the United States while playing for Georgia. "Playing four years of college, when you're playing for someone other than yourself, I think it makes it a lot more fun," Isner said. His racket's strings remain red and black, the colors of his beloved Bulldogs. "That's why I enjoy Davis Cup, and I really enjoyed college tennis," he said. It's very special. You want to go out there and compete your hardest, because you don't want to let anyone down. You want to absolutely give it your all for your team. And that's sort of the mentality I've taken to pro tennis. By "team," Isner is primarily referring to his coach of three years, Craig Boynton, though he does acknowledge the growing importance of his results to so-called American tennis. "You know, I hadn't really thought about that," Isner said. I guess I am representing the U.S. tennis brand. But certainly I don't want to let my coach down. He's been very disappointed in me, in some instances. "Like 2009, in the European fall, I wasn't, sort of, maybe didn't want to be over there," Isner said of a stretch of three indoor tournaments in Vienna, Basel, Switzerland, and Paris at which he only won two matches. Didn't put forth, didn't compete my hardest out there on the court. And that's something that, looking back, is just the stupidest thing I could ever do. I've got to realize how lucky I am to be able to do what I'm doing. And can't sell myself short, and can't sell C. B. short, either. In the fall of 2011, Isner made it to the semifinals of that same indoor Masters 1000 event in Paris, a result that stands as one of the biggest contributors to his current career-high ranking. Isner's commitment to not selling himself short extends to his scheduling decisions, including an April Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo on clay to which few Americans have ventured in the past decade. "I want to have great results all throughout the course of the year, not just in the U.S.," Isner said. I mean, I certainly am most comfortable in the States, because it's what I'm used to. But going to Europe, I know I'm capable of playing my best tennis no matter where I'm at. I think my clay results in my career aren't indicative of how good I can be on that surface. I beat Roger on clay. I took Djokovic to five on clay. I took Rafa to five on clay. Those are the best three in the world on that surface. So it's something that I'm not shying away from. I'm going to go out there and play a good schedule, play the big events on clay, and see how I do. Though Isner is not young by tennis standards at 26, his late introduction onto the pro circuit means that he does not have the same wear and tear on his body as others. He turned professional only after finishing at Georgia in 2007 and has been on tour full time a full seven years less than Fish or Andy Roddick, who both turned professional as teenagers and later became the highest-ranked American male players. The prospect of Isner's joining the honor roll of being the highest-ranked American seems more probable than not in the short run, given his current upswing and Fish's struggles in 2012, a mantle for which Isner, who was ranked outside the top 40 last summer, seems poised. That would be a huge honor, if I ever were to become the No. 1 American," he said. It's something that I've always wanted to, you know, achieve that. For me, if were to happen, it'd be great. I'd try to hold onto that spot as long as possible, but I know there'd be a lot of people nipping at my heels to try to get to that No. 1 ranking, he said, is not a common topic of conversation among players. But everyone wants to be ranked as high as they possibly can be ranked. So maybe the No. 1 American, it would be nice, for sure.