"Sucks for Frances Tiafoe" - John Isner slams 'diabolically' slippery courts at Queen's Club for compatriot's nasty injury in 1R loss

Former World No. 8 John Isner has blasted the court conditions at the Queen’s Club Championships after his compatriot Frances Tiafoe suffered a nasty fall and had to retire from his first-round match. Isner expressed his concern for Tiafoe’s health and hoped he would recover in time for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, which start in two weeks.

The grass-court season is also notorious for its slippery and unpredictable surface, especially in the early stages of the tournaments, when the grass is fresh and moist. Many players have suffered injuries or lost matches due to losing their footing or balance on the slick grass.

One of the most tragic examples was Juan Martin Del Potro, the former US Open champion and former World No. 3, who slipped and injured his knee at Queen’s Club in 2019 and never fully recovered from the injury. He played only one more match in his career, at the 2022 Argentina Open, before announcing his retirement from the sport.

Tiafoe was the latest victim of the slippery courts at Queen’s Club. He was playing against Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata in the first round on Court 1 on Monday (June 17). Hijikata won the first set 7-5 but the American leveled scores by winning the second 6-4.

In the third set, Tiafoe was trailing 0-1 when he slipped and fell on his hip. He immediately called for a medical timeout and received treatment on the court. He tried to continue playing, but could not move well and was clearly in pain, eventually retiring from the match. It was later announced that Tiafoe had sustained a right hip injury.

Isner, who retired from professional tennis in 2023, took to X (formerly Twitter) on June 17, to criticize the court conditions at Queen’s Club. Isner showed his support for Tiafoe and wished him a speedy recovery for the Wimbledon Championships.

"Queens is undoubtedly one of the best events of the year, but the courts are diabolically slippery, especially on Monday and Tuesday. Just ask DelPo [Juan Martin Del Potro ]. Sucks for Frances, hope he can recover for SW19 [Wimbedon Championships]," Isner wrote.

John Isner had made a single appearance at the Queen's Club Championships in his 16 years of professional tennis career. He participated in the grass-court tournament in 2008, where he reached the second round before losing 7-5, 6-4 to Nicolas Mahut.

Frances Tiafoe was not the only player who struggled with the court on Monday as Holger Rune also fell several times on the surface before losing the first round to Jordan Thompson in three sets.

The ATP 500 grass-court tournament continues until June 23, with some of the top players in the world, such as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Grigor Dimitrov, Tommy Paul, and Alex de Minaur, competing for the trophy.

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John Isner dominates Frances Tiafoe in head-to-head record

Frances Tiafoe in action at the 2024 French Open

John Isner has a substantial lead over Frances Tiafoe in their head-to-head record. Isner has won all three matches they have played so far, with two of them being on hard courts and one on clay.

The first encounter between Isner and Tiafoe was at the 2016 US Open, where the former prevailed 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (3) in three hours and 28 minutes. The second match was at the 2017 Cincinnati Masters, where he had a more comfortable win, defeating Tiafoe 7-6 (4), 7-5, in an hour and 40 minutes.

The most recent match was at the 2022 Houston Open, where John Isner and Frances Tiafoe met in the quarterfinals on clay. The former once again came out on top, winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in under two hours.