Paris Masters 2011: American John Isner Gets Back on Track with Strong Showing

John Isner took some time off following a quarterfinal loss to Andy Murray at the US Open. He returned last month in the Valencia Open only to lose to virtual unknown Vasek Pospisil in his first match, which raised some questions.

Many of those questions should have been answered by his strong bounce-back BNP Paribas Masters performance in Paris.

He reached the semifinals, including wins over Stanislas Wawrinka and David Ferrer, before being eliminated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three close sets. Isner did lose two tiebreaks, which is an area in which he usually excels, but it was an encouraging outing nevertheless.

While the American was pleased with his tournament, he knows there's room to improve (via Associated Press).

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"You come so close to winning, it gets taken away from you. It wasn't to be," Isner said. "He came up with the goods, hats off to him. That's why he's one of the best players in the world, he came up big."

"I've showed this tournament that I can play with the best players in the world," said Isner, who was hoping to reach his first Masters final. "I just have to be more consistent, improve my backhand."

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Isner was aiming to become the first American since Andre Agassi in 1999 to win the tournament.

Even though Isner didn't drop his serve all match, which would seem to bode well for tiebreakers, Tsonga stepped up and had the crowd support to push him over the finish line. Isner, who is best known for his record-breaking match at Wimbledon, can sleep easy knowing he'll still regain a spot inside the top 20.

And even bigger things could be on the horizon.

Isner's game matches up well for next year's first major, the Australian Open. Like he mentioned, he's really only a backhand, and a little more fitness, away from becoming a major hard-court force.

A trip to the quarterfinals is certainly possible, which would make it the second straight major in which he reached that mark, and if the bracket fell his way the semifinals aren't out of the question, either.

His serve is such a major advantage that it's hard to count him out of any match as Rafael Nadal almost learned in the French Open earlier this year when Isner took him to five sets. Winning matches against top-notch talent will only help him build his confidence moving forward.

American tennis fans could use something to be excited about and Isner's performance in Paris could be the beginning of just that.