John Isner Is Approaching Career-High Ranking Following 2011 Paris Masters

John Isner had an incredible run at the 2011 Paris Masters—a run that came up just short of an appearance in the tournament final.

On Saturday, Isner fell to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The Frenchman fought off three match points before securing victory for himself.

While failing to convert on a match point—and ultimately losing the match—has to sting for Isner and his contingent, there is a flip side of the coin for the American.

Last year in Paris, Isner went out in the round of 32. As a result, he had only 10 ranking points to defend this year at the Paris Masters.

By making the semifinal, he took down 320 ranking points—for a net gain of 310.  That injection should yield a significant jump in the rankings on Monday.

Isner was ranked 25th in the world heading into the Paris Masters. When the rankings update on November 14th, he could be back up in the top 20.

His current total of 1,440 ranking points will increase to 1,750. If applied to the November 7th rankings, that total would be strong enough for 18th in the world—a position that would match his career-high ranking from the middle of 2010.

While there's bound to be positional changes for other players when the official rankings are available in about 24 hours, look for Isner's rank to rise for certain. 

Isner's season is now over, but the 2012 season is just around the corner. The offseason is a short one on the ATP Tour.

The American has barely any ranking points to defend in the first five months of the 2012 season. That being the case, you have to wonder if he will make the top 10 before the middle of next year.