The order’s tall, the odds long, but he’s game

NEW YORK -- The Leaning Tower of Georgia has made his mark at this year’s U.S. Open tennis tournament, and John Isner hasn’t even played Roger Federer yet.

That is scheduled to happen today, in the third round of the men’s singles draw.

By dinner time, Too Tall John will be able to reflect on what a nice ride it was and how he can be big again like this in upcoming events. He will be a 13-match pro veteran by then, with an 8-5 record, a runner-up finish in the tournament in Washington, D.C., and a ranking that will have gone from No. 839 June 25 to No. 184 now.

Isner has refreshed this year’s tournament like a tall, cool drink of water.

Tall, he is. But his 6-foot-9 stature is not the only remarkable thing about this 22-year-old from Greensboro, N.C., whose straight-sets victory clinched this year’s NCAA team title for Georgia, even if he didn’t win the individual singles crown.

He is friendly, agreeable, even kind to reporters -- a flaw his fellow touring pros will rid him of soon. His practice session Friday attracted about 100 fans and every time somebody asked him to stop and pose for a picture, he did. Sometimes in mid-backhand.

His game is notable for more than a serve that descends from the clouds at speeds approaching 140 mph. He seems to have a sound concept of the game, can play solidly from the backcourt if needed, and has been properly coached to get to the net as often as possible behind the shooting-star serve.

All in all, he has good hands and decent speed. He is Kobe Bryant’s dream -- a big man who can catch and move.

He got into the tournament when he was awarded a wild card by the U.S. Tennis Assn., and his run here, likely as it is to end today, has been a smash hit. On top of everything else, he has a sense of humor.

That was evident when he finished off qualifier Rik De Voest of South Africa in the second round, had the inevitable TV microphone thrust in his face and was asked the inevitable question: You play Federer next. What do you think?

“I’m don’t know him, but I hear he is pretty good,” Isner deadpanned.

On Friday, just before he headed for practice, Isner said he hadn’t finalized his strategy for Federer, even though he had assured reporters a day earlier that he understood there was no way he could win from the backcourt and to expect to see him at the net a lot. But he is realistic about playing a man seeking his fourth straight title here.

“There really aren’t a lot of areas I can attack,” he said.

Since Federer has no weaknesses, Isner may have to rely more than usual on his Georgia Bulldogs rooting section, which might even distract Federer for a point or two. Against De Voest, the Louis Armstrong Court was bombarded with the “Go Dawgs” call.

A match made in heaven would pit Isner’s “Dawgs” against James Blake’s “J Block,” a rooting group that dresses in blue, sits in a suite and never shuts up. On the annoyance meter, the Dawgs and the J block might play to a draw.

Near the end against De Voest, one especially vocal Isner fan not only invoked the Dawgs, but also prodded Isner with constant use of a nickname he isn’t all that keen on: Grandpa.

“I got it at school,” Isner said. “Sometimes, I take forever to get moving. I wander around a lot.”

He said that, sometimes, fans can go over the top.

“The guy was starting to bug me,” he said. “I was trying to close out my match against De Voest and he kept yelling about what I was going to do to Federer.”

Wednesday night, Isner and Federer finished about the same time and crossed paths in the locker room.

“I had never met him,” Isner said, “but he stopped and congratulated me, so I kind of got to meet him then.”

For a third-round match involving one of the greatest players ever and a raw rookie, the anticipation for this one has been unusual. It is built mostly around Isner’s huge serve and the fact that Federer, in this day and age of baseline bashers, seldom faces a dominant serve-and-volley game.

In the end, Andy Roddick’s assessment seemed most on target.

“Isner’s going to be very tall,” Roddick said, “and Roger is going to be very good.”

--

Dwyre can be reached at bill.dwyre@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Dwyre, go to latimes.com/dwyre.