In November, when the tennis world was consumed by the race between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray for the No.1 ranking, a significant drama was playing out just below the surface in Paris.
John Isner defeated fellow American Jack Sock in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarterfinal match. Playing his best tennis of the year when he needed it most, Isner survived the three-set encounter, winning one more point than Sock, 106 to 105.
By that narrowest of margins Isner would go on, after beating Marin Cilic in the semifinals, to continue two important streaks. The 6-foot-10, 238-pound athlete finished the 2016 season as America's top-ranked man for the fifth consecutive time and placed among the top 20 for the seventh straight.
Isner, 31, knew precisely what was at stake.
"I think it helped me having that carrot dangling right in front of me," he said earlier this week from Memphis. "Prior to that tournament, I didn't think I had a shot at either of those things.
"I'm very proud of those [streaks]. It's something I never could have imagined possible when I first started playing pros. For a big guy who's played a long time, I've managed to stay pretty healthy. As long as that continues, I'd like to think I can keep that up."
While Isner's big game is predicated on aces and forehands, the sport also demands constant attention to the other side of the ball. Defense, chronically overlooked, is a critical component -- both on the court and in the ever-shifting matrix of the global rankings.
Isner, who has already seen Sock overtake him on the rankings ladder in the early season going -- the 24-year-old Kansas City resident is No. 21, two spots ahead of Isner -- will play Donald Young in the Memphis quarterfinals Friday.
First up is Japan's 21-year-old Yoshihito Nishioka in a second-round match. In fact, there are a number of 21-and-under emerging stars the ATP promotes as #NextGen, including three American teenagers, Francis Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka -- the latter a gifted 6-11 player with a game that resembles Isner's.
Isner already knows them well; he beat Tiafoe in last year's US Open and had defeated Fritz and Opelka earlier in Atlanta.
"I call them guys, but I consider them kids," Isner said. "They're unbelievably talented and they're all different kinds of players, which is exciting to see.
"American tennis fans are going to enjoy cheering them on for years to come."
Wearing shorts and his ever-present Bass Pro Shops cap, Isner talked at length about his career in the Memphis media interview room.
Isner, who turns 32 in April, admitted he doesn't feel quite as good as he did four or five years ago, but has started making some concessions to age.
"I've hit a lot of balls over my career; there's a lot of equity there," he explained. "I've been changing things up, in the sense of maybe a little less court time. I'll spend more time in the gym, more on the table stretching. Taking care of my body, as opposed to grinding hours on top of hours."
Seeing Roger Federer and Serena Williams, a pair of 35-year-olds, win the Australian Open was encouraging. Isner, for one, said he wasn't surprised by Federer's 18th major title.
"None of us were expected to see him to win three, four Slams the way he did in 2006-07, but in recent years, he's always been close," Isner said. "When Murray didn't go through, the draw opened up and when he got to the quarters, I thought he'd win it. It was awesome to see."
While Isner is old by elite tennis standards, consider the top seed in Memphis, Ivo Karlovic. He turns 38 later this month and is ranked No. 20.
"I don't hold a candle to what Ivo is doing," Isner said. "That's very impressive. There's so many players playing well in their late 20s, early 30s and now mid-30s. Players are taking better care of themselves and you're seeing that in their results."
Isner is particularly jazzed about the United States Davis Cup team, which meets Australia in the quarterfinals Down Under in early April. With the Davis Cup retirement of doubles specialists Bob and Mike Bryan, who turn 39 in April, Isner is the ranking senior citizen. Isner, who won a singles point in the recent 5-0 win over Switzerland in Birmingham, Alabama, said having four similarly ranked singles players (himself, Sock, Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey) gives captain Jim Courier options.
Isner hopes to build on that strong finish last fall and again reach those benchmarks that have defined his career.
"It's getting tougher as I get a little older to stay No. 1 [among American players]," he said. "I think that will help me having these [younger] guys ahead of me and behind. Of course I want to continue, stay inside the top 20 at the end of the year. Now that I have this little streak going, it would be nice to keep it going.
"I don't see myself trying to hang around at 80, 90,100 in the world. I never could have seen myself playing until 33, 34, but there's no reason I can't."