John Isner Retires Mid-Match Against Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open 2020

Swiss tennis player Stan Wawrinka has advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open. Unfortunately, it was at the expense of American player John Isner, who was forced to retire.

Admittedly, both players were simultaneously battling themselves during the match. Ahead of the match, it appeared that Wawrinka had contracted flu-like symptoms. On the other side of the court, Isner appeared to be in worse shape due to an injury.

Stan Wawrinka had already wrapped up the opening set with a score of 6-4. In the second set, he had just reached 4-1, before Isner called a trainer at a changeover and then chose to retire from the match.

In all honesty, Wawrinka must have been thanking his lucky stars that the match did not drag out any further. Speaking to RTS Sport after his match against Andreas Seppi, he confessed that he was violently sick during the match. Although it looked like he was cruising, who knew how long he would have lasted during the Isner clash, had the latter not retired.

He even revealed that he was bed-ridden for two days, but managed to persevere against Seppi. While it is unknown about Wawrinka’ road to recovery, a short-lived match should give him plenty of time to recover properly.

To be perfectly honest, he will need all the regained strength that he can get. This is because, he will face a stern test in the next round as he faces either Daniil Medvedev or Alexei Popyrin in the fourth round. Both players are exceptional and they could give the 3-time Grand Slam champion a run for his money.

What next for John Isner after the Australian Open 2020?

The American tennis player already confirmed that he will be absent from the Tokyo Olympics 2020. As it turns out, he nursed a foot injury last year, which kept him out f0r a while. Luckily, he recovered from that and took part in the openng Grand Slam of the year.

The bad news is that his body seems to have violently protested and picked the Wawrinka match to go on strike. Speaking about the Tokyo Olympics, John Isner revealed that scheduling was the primary culprit. Also joining him on the sidelines are Dominic Thiem, Daniel Evans and Isner’s compatriot Sam Querrey.