Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/60293
PROMOTION game. The native of Greensboro, North Carolina led the University of Georgia to an NCAA title in 2007. In 2010, Isner defeated France's Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in a match that spanned three days, the longest in tennis history. He reached the quarterfinals of last year's U.S. Open and earned wins at the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport and Winston- Salem Open. Aside from his accomplishments, what may be most amazing about Isner is his pure ability. Brandishing a nearly unbreakable serve that hovers around the 140-mile per hour mark, he brings to the court one of the more unique skill sets seen in tennis today. "His athleticism, his agility at his size, particularly his height, it's very impressive to see him move," said Schultz. "You're never going to look at him next to a Federer or a Nadal and say he moves great. But in the same way you look at certain big men in the NBA, you say, 'Hey, he looks and moves great relative to his peer group.' "What he's done in the last year and a half or so is start to really focus and refine the way he plays to take advantage of his skill sets and to maximize the things he does really well, in particular his serve and his forehand and having great hands at the net. I see a tremendous amount of improvement." Just like the Lobsters as a whole, Isner just keeps ascending, and Uttam doesn't see that coming to an end anytime soon, either. "My prediction is he's going to be a top 10 player. And it's nice to have a top 10 player." It will also be nice to have Falconi back. At the tail end of last season, Falconi came on as a last-minute replacement for Coco Vandeweghe and helped the Lobsters rally for their second consecutive appearance in the Eastern Conference Championship final. "Last season for the Lobsters was honestly such a unique and genuinely awesome experience," Falconi said. "I get a call from Vandeweghe at around 9 p.m. She leaves me a voice mail with some usual pleasantries and then she hits me with, 'Hey, so, um, do you want to come play for the Lobsters in Boston tomorrow?' I didn't even have a match outfit! But, hey, we made it work and the very next day we won our very first away match which was super exciting." Falconi followed that up with another super exciting run at the U.S. Open, where she advanced to the Round of 32. "My experience in (World TeamTennis) definitely helped me make a run (at the U.S. Open)," said Falconi, who climbed to No. 73 in the world last October. "In WTT you have to come out firing from the very first point. There's no time to casually and gradually get comfortable with the court, opponent and ball. You have to come out balling right off the bat. Having that information, I knew that when I would be in the same position at a WTA match, I would come out the same way. " In her short period with the Lobsters last season, she leſt a lasting impression on Schultz. "I think I noticed two things specifically," he said. "One, she's small, she's short, and you sort of have some preconceptions. But then you watch her play and you realize she can make any shot in the book. Very few women on the tour can hit every shot. "The second thing is she's incredibly competitive. She's simply really fun to watch. And, lastly, the thing you see and realize is she has a very, very good understanding of the game, how to create points and how to close points out. She's just a real dynamic player. It was just exciting to see her play."