John Isner: Will He Reach the Top 10 Before the End of 2012?

Before his record-breaking first-round match against Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010, American John Isner was not very famous in the world of tennis. Since that three-day endeavor, though, he has become a common household name among tennis fans.

That match wasn't the only reason for Isner's emergence; if he had never seen success after that, he likely would have disappeared from the face of American tennis. Fortunately for him, that was not the case.

In the past two years, we have seen Isner develop so much as a player. On top of his intimidating size (6'9", 245 lbs) and his incredible serve, he now has a solid overall game that has proven to be quite successful.

Isner's 2011 season saw two ATP titles at Winston-Salem and Newport, and his best Grand Slam performance to date at the U.S. Open, where he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Andy Murray. Perhaps most notable was his performance in the Paris Masters event, where he defeated current World No. 5 David Ferrer in the quarterfinals, and took No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to a third-set tiebreaker before falling just short in the semis.

After losing to No. 18 seed Feliciano Lopez in the Australian Open at the start of 2012, some began to feel chances for his success were fleeting. Their confidence was restored, however, with Isner's shocking four-set victory over Roger Federer in the Davis Cup, in the Maestro's home country of Switzerland.

American tennis fans were quick to jump on that performance as a spark of hope for their country. Could Isner become the star that the United States has been looking for?

We still don't know whether or not he has what it takes to win some major tournaments and contend in Grand Slams. But we do know that he is playing better than ever, and now is the perfect time to be doing so.

Isner currently sits at a career-high position of No. 11 in the world. Going into the next few Masters events and ultimately the French Open, he is naturally looking to break the top 10. Assuming that he can at least match his 2011 performances at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome, he will be prepared to close the gap between him and current No. 10 Janko Tipasarevic at Roland Garros. 

Last year, Isner was drawn against Rafa Nadal in the first round of the French Open. Although he shocked fans by taking the Spaniard to five sets, he couldn't pull out the victory. As disappointing as that result was, it should actually help him out; all he needs to do to gain points at the French is win one match, and as a seeded player, he should have no trouble winning the first few.

A strong performance at Roland Garros wouldn't necessarily be enough to put him in the top 10, but it would give him momentum for Wimbledon, where he only needs two wins to gain points. After that comes the U.S. Open series, where he will undoubtedly have the crowd behind him.

If Isner is ever going to make the top 10 and establish himself as the face of American tennis, the 2012 season is his prime opportunity. Time will tell whether or not he can do it before the year is out.