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John Isner flew to the Miami Open presented by the Itau Final, reaching the championship game in South Florida without losing a set. But the 2018 champion quickly lost the first set against Roger Federer and began to feel pain in his left foot a few games after. The American finished the game, but he clearly had a sore back, returning home to find that he had a left-sided tension fracture which, according to the doctors, would keep him away for three to six weeks. weeks.
The plus point for Isner, is that he spends a lot of time with his six-month-old daughter Hunter Grace when he is at home.
"It helps a lot. It takes up a lot of my time, although I can not really do that. I have to stand up, "Isner told ATPTour.com. "I just fed her sitting on the couch and I had a lot of fun doing it. But that certainly avoids me thinking about the injury. Sitting here right now, I have nothing to complain about. I keep a very positive state of mind in all this because life is pretty good. "
The good news for Isner is that he hopes to return to the Mutua Madrid Open, a tournament of the ATP Masters 1000 that will begin May 3. The American hopes to keep the confidence he has built by winning 15 of his last 20 games. Isner's 15-7 start in 2019 is his best start to the clay season since 2012, when it was 15-6.
"I consider myself very lucky. I could have hurt myself in my second game and I probably had to lose that game or withdraw from the tournament. There was only one match to go and of course, I was delighted to be in the finals. I wanted to give a better show, but I was also fighting against the greatest player of all time, "said Isner. "Being in the finals of a Masters, I could certainly get some confidence from it. When I come back, if it's Madrid, I will not have hit a lot of balls before my first match. But I could look back knowing that at the last tournament I had competed, I qualified for the final and it was a very big tournament.
The world number 10 does not know exactly when the injury occurred. But it was extremely painful and, even if he struggled to the best of his ability, he knew he could do nothing against Federer.
"It was just every time I put weight on my left foot. Serve weighs a lot on my left foot, it's my predominant leg when I'm serving. Any other movement requiring any push of my left leg was quite painful, "Isner said. "It was a hard feeling because you could not do anything. There is no hiding place there. You can not play through this pain, either. You are stuck there. It's a pretty miserable feeling. "
Isner does his best to stay comfortable in Dallas, Texas. The only time he really leaves home, is when he needs to be healed on foot.
"Generally, the more I stay back, the better it is. The less pressure on my foot, the faster it will heal, "Isner said. "It's difficult for me because it seems counterproductive. Although I have been injured in the past, I have always been able to recover actively. But it's difficult to recover actively. "
The qualifier for the Nitto ATP Final 2018 indicates that the most difficult of the situation is to remain motionless. Even if his foot is ready to 100%, but he is not in "form of tennis" satisfactory, he will not go at full speed to compete in Madrid. He intends to take his time to fully recover from the injury before playing again.
"I have been pretty used to being healthy in recent years. I am very proud to stay healthy even though it is not an easy task, "said Isner. "Being on the set right now, with respect to the seasons, it's not a horrible time. It's just something foreign to me because I'm used to coaching when I'm at home, working, and being very, very active. Because my foot is injured, it's very difficult to do all that. "
Isner was eager to compete in Fayez Sarofim & Co.'s clay court clay court next week in Houston, as he could travel from his home to the event. But it is likely that he will not even be able to train next week. He had to make the difficult decision to withdraw.
"I am absolutely delighted to be out of Houston because I have the privilege of participating in a tournament I have never missed in my career. I played it 12 years in a row, "said Isner. "I will miss this year and it's hard to swallow because I really like to play there."
For now, Isner is doing his best to stay positive, rest and aim for Madrid and its surroundings.
"That's all I feel. It all depends on the feeling of my foot, if I could put all my weight on my leg and now I can not do it anymore, "Isner said. "I've always been a quick healer when things came up here and there. I think I will overcome that very quickly. It will be neither tomorrow nor the next day nor probably next week. So, I just have to give him time. "
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