A man and a woman presently playing at two different levels of the tennis world – John Isner and Claire Liu -- each performed well enough in May to earn Team USA Player of the Month honors.
Isner (pictured above), 32 and 6-foot-11, became the first American since Andy Roddick in 2008 to reach the singles semifinals at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome. He sat comfortably at No. 22 in the world heading into the French Open, where he reached the third round.
Liu, 17 and 5-foot-4, won 13 straight singles matches to win consecutive singles titles at a $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Naples, Fla., and a $25,000 pro circuit event in Caserta, Italy. She reached a career-high No. 349 before entering the junior tournament at Roland Garros.
More highlights from Team USA in May:
- Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey reached the quarterfinals at the ATP 250 Geneva Open in Switzerland.
- Alison Riske reached the singles quarterfinals, and Nicole Melichar won the doubles title at the WTA International in Nurnberg, Germany.
- Shelby Rogers reached the singles quarterfinals at the WTA International in Strasbourg, France.
- CoCo Vandeweghe reached the singles quarterfinals at the Madrid Open WTA Premier event.
- Ryan Harrison reached the singles quarterfinals and won the doubles title at the ATP 250 in Estoril, Portugal.
- Tennys Sandgren won the singles title at the USTA Pro Circuit $75,000 Challenger in Savannah, Ga., clinching the USTA’s Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge and booking his first Grand Slam main-draw entry, via wild card, into the French Open.
- Frances Tiafoe won the singles title at the $143,000 ATP Challenger in Aix En Provence, France.
- Madison Brengle won the singles title over compatriot Danielle Collins at the USTA Pro Circuit $60,000 event in Charleston, S.C.
- Emina Bektas won consecutive doubles titles at the two USTA Pro Circuit $25,000 events in Naples, Fla., one with Sanaz Marand.