Name	Daily Mail
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Tabloid
Foundation	4 May 1896
Owners	Daily Mail and General Trust
Political	Pro-Conservative
Publisher	Associated Newspapers Ltd
Editor	Paul Dacre
Circulation	2,100,855
Language	English
Website	dailymail.co.uk }}

The ''Daily Mail'' is a British, daily middle market tabloid newspaper. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after ''The Sun''. Its sister paper ''The Mail on Sunday'' was launched in 1982. Scottish and Irish editions of the daily paper were launched in 1947 and 2006 respectively. The ''Daily Mail'' was Britain's first daily newspaper aimed at the newly-literate "lower-middle class market resulting from mass education, combining a low retail price with plenty of competitions, prizes and promotional gimmicks", and the first British paper to sell a million copies a day. It was, from the outset, a newspaper for women, being the first to provide features especially for them, and is still the only British newspaper whose readership is more than 50% female.

Overview

The ''Mail'' was originally a broadsheet but switched to a compact format on 3 May 1971, the 75th anniversary of its founding. On this date it also absorbed the ''Daily Sketch'', which had been published as a tabloid by the same company. The publisher of the ''Mail'', the Daily Mail and General Trust is currently a FTSE 250 company and the paper has a circulation of around two million which is the third-largest circulation of any English language daily newspaper and one of the highest in the world.

Circulation figures according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations in November 2010 show gross sales of 2,100,855 in November 2010 for the ''Daily Mail''. According to a December 2004 survey, 53% of ''Daily Mail'' readers voted for the Conservative Party, compared to 21% for Labour and 17% for the Liberal Democrats. The main concern of Viscount Rothermere, the current chairman and main shareholder, is that the circulation be maintained. He testified before a House of Lords select committee that "we need to allow editors the freedom to edit", and therefore the newspaper's editor was free to decide editorial policy, including its political allegiance. The ''Mail'' has been edited by Paul Dacre since 1992.

Under Dacre, the Mail has a reputation for a conservative editorial stance on topics such as immigration, working women and teenage sex.

History

Early history

The ''Daily Mail'', devised by Alfred Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe) and his brother Harold (later Lord Rothermere), was first published on 4 May 1896. It was an immediate success. It cost a halfpenny at a time when other London dailies cost one penny, and was more populist in tone and more concise in its coverage than its rivals. The planned issue was 100,000 copies but the print run on the first day was 397,215 and additional printing facilities had to be acquired to sustain a circulation which rose to 500,000 in 1899. Lord Salisbury, 19th-century Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, dismissed the ''Daily Mail'' as "a newspaper produced by office boys for office boys." By 1902, at the end of the Boer War, the circulation was over a million, making it the largest in the world.

With Harold running the business side of the operation and Alfred as Editor, the Mail from the start adopted an imperialist political stance, taking a patriotic line in the Second Boer War, leading to claims that it was not reporting the issues of the day objectively. From the beginning, the Mail also set out to entertain its readers with human interest stories, serials, features and competitions (which were also the main means by which the Harmsworths promoted the paper).

In 1900, the ''Daily Mail'' began printing simultaneously in both Manchester and London, the first national newspaper to do so (in 1899, the ''Daily Mail'' had organised special trains to bring the London-printed papers north). The same production method was adopted in 1909 by the ''Daily Sketch'', in 1927 by the ''Daily Express'' and eventually by virtually all the other national newspapers. Printing of the ''Scottish Daily Mail'' was switched from Edinburgh to the Deansgate plant in Manchester in 1968 and, for a while, ''The People'' was also printed on the Mail presses in Deansgate. In 1987, printing at Deansgate ended and the northern editions were thereafter printed at other Associated Newspapers plants.

In 1906, the paper offered £1,000 for the first flight across the English Channel and £10,000 for the first flight from London to Manchester. ''Punch'' magazine thought the idea preposterous and offered £10,000 for the first flight to Mars, but by 1910 both the Mail's prizes had been won. (For full list see Daily Mail aviation prizes.)

The paper was accused of warmongering before the outbreak of World War I, when it reported that Germany was planning to crush the British Empire. Northcliffe created controversy by advocating conscription when the war broke out. On 21 May 1915, Northcliffe wrote a blistering attack on Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War. Kitchener was considered a national hero, and, overnight, the paper's circulation dropped from 1,386,000 to 238,000. 1,500 members of the London Stock Exchange ceremonially burned the unsold copies and launched a boycott against the Harmsworth Press. Prime Minister H. H. Asquith accused the paper of being disloyal to the country.

When Kitchener died, the Mail reported it as a great stroke of luck for the British Empire. The paper then campaigned against Asquith, who resigned on 5 December 1916. His successor, David Lloyd George, asked Northcliffe to be in his cabinet, hoping it would prevent him from criticising the government. Northcliffe declined.

Inter-war period

As Lord Northcliffe aged, his grip on the paper slackened and he might have nothing to do with it for months at a time. But light-hearted stunts might enliven him, such as the Hat campaign in the winter of 1920. This was a contest with a prize of £100 for new design of hat — a subject in which Northcliffe took a particular interest. There were 40,000 entries and the winner was a cross between a top hat and a bowler christened the ''Daily Mail Sandringham Hat''. The paper subsequently promoted the wearing of it but without much success. In 1922, when Lord Northcliffe died, Lord Rothermere took full control of the paper.

In 1919, Alcock and Brown made the first flight across the Atlantic winning a prize of £10,000 from the ''Daily Mail''. In 1930, the ''Daily Mail'' made a great story of another aviation stunt, awarding another prize of £10,000 to Amy Johnson for making the first solo flight from England to Australia.

The ''Daily Mail'' had begun the Ideal Home Exhibition in 1908. At first, Northcliffe had disdained this as a publicity stunt to sell advertising and he refused to attend. But his wife exerted pressure upon him and he changed his views, becoming more supportive. By 1922, the editorial side of the paper was fully engaged in promoting the benefits of modern appliances and technology to free its female readers from the drudgery of housework. The ''Mail'' maintained the event until selling it to Media 10 in 2009.

On 25 October 1924, the ''Daily Mail'' published the forged Zinoviev Letter, which indicated that British Communists were planning violent revolution. This was a significant factor in the defeat of Ramsay MacDonald's Labour Party in the 1924 general election, held four days later.

From 1923, Lord Rothermere and the ''Daily Mail'' formed an alliance with the other great press baron, Lord Beaverbrook. Their opponent was the Conservative party politician and leader Stanley Baldwin. By 1929, George Ward Price was writing in the Mail that Baldwin should be deposed and Beaverbrook elected as leader. In early 1930, the two Lords launched the United Empire Party which the ''Daily Mail'' supported enthusiastically.

The rise of the new party dominated the newspaper and, even though Beaverbrook soon withdrew, Rothermere continued to campaign. Vice Admiral Taylor fought the first by-election for the United Empire Party in October, defeating the official Conservative candidate by 941 votes. Baldwin's position was now in doubt but, in 1931, Duff Cooper won the key by-election at St George's, Westminster, beating the United Empire Party candidate, Sir Ernest Petter, supported by Rothermere, and this broke the political power of the press barons.

In 1927, the celebrated picture of the year ''Morning'' by Dod Proctor was bought by the ''Daily Mail'' for the Tate Gallery.

Lord Rothermere was a friend and supporter of both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, which influenced the ''Mail'''s political stance towards them during the 1930s. Rothermere's 1933 leader "Youth Triumphant" praised the new Nazi regime's accomplishments, and was subsequently used as propaganda by them.

Rothermere and the ''Mail'' were also editorially sympathetic to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists. Rothermere wrote an article entitled "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" in January 1934, praising Mosley for his "sound, commonsense, Conservative doctrine". This support ended after violence at a BUF rally in Kensington Olympia later that year.

Post-war history

On 5 May 1946, the ''Daily Mail'' celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Winston Churchill was the chief guest at the banquet and toasted it with a speech,

In reply, Lord Rothermere II had something to say about the newsprint shortages at that time for, while the ''Mail'' of 1896 was 8 pages, the Mail of 1946 was reduced to just 4.

The ''Daily Mail'' was transformed by its editor of the seventies and eighties, Sir David English. Sir David began his Fleet Street career in 1951, joining ''The Daily Mirror'' before moving to ''The Daily Sketch'', where he became features editor. It was the ''Sketch'' which brought him his first editorship, from 1969 to 1971. That year the ''Sketch'' was closed and he moved to take over the top job at the ''Mail'', where he was to remain for more than 20 years. English transformed it from a struggling rival selling two million copies fewer than the ''Daily Express'' to a formidable journalistic powerhouse, which soared dramatically in popularity. After 20 years perfecting the Mail, Sir David English became editor-in-chief and chairman of Associated Newspapers in 1992.

The paper enjoyed a period of journalistic success in the 1980s, employing some of the most inventive writers in old Fleet Street including the gossip columnist Nigel Dempster, Lynda Lee Potter and sportswriter Ian Wooldridge (who unlike some of his colleagues — the paper generally did not support sporting boycotts of white-minority-ruled South Africa — strongly opposed Apartheid). In 1982, a Sunday title, the ''Mail on Sunday'', was launched (the ''Sunday Mail'' was already the name of a newspaper in Scotland, owned by the Mirror Group.) There are Scottish editions of both the ''Daily Mail'' and ''Mail on Sunday'', with different articles and columnists. In 1992, the current editor, Paul Dacre, was appointed.

Scottish, Irish, Continental and Indian editions

Scottish ''Daily Mail''

The ''Scottish Daily Mail'' was published as a separate title from Edinburgh, starting in 1947. The circulation was poor though, falling to below 100,000 and the operation was rebased to Manchester in December 1968. In 1995 the ''Scottish Daily Mail'' was relaunched printed in Glasgow. With a circulation in Dec 2009 of 113,771 making it the third highest daily newspaper sale in Scotland.

Irish edition

The Daily Mail officially entered the Irish market with the launch of a local version of the paper on 6 February 2006; free copies of the paper were distributed on that day in some locations to publicise the launch. Its masthead differs from that of UK versions by having a green rectangle with the word "IRISH", instead of the Royal Arms. The Irish version includes stories of Irish interest alongside content from the UK version. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the Irish edition had a circulation of 63,511 for July 2007, falling to an average of 49,090 for the second half of 2009. Since 24 September 2006 ''Ireland on Sunday'', the Irish Sunday newspaper acquired by Associated in 2001, was replaced by an Irish edition of the ''Mail on Sunday'' (the ''Irish Mail on Sunday''), to tie in with the weekday newspaper.

Continental and Overseas Daily Mail

Two foreign editions were begun in 1904 and 1905; the former titled the "Overseas Daily Mail", covering the world, and the latter titled the "Continental Daily Mail", covering Europe and North Africa.

''Mail Today''

The newspaper entered India on 16 November 2007 with the launch of ''Mail Today'', a 48-page compact size newspaper printed in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida with a print run of 110,000 copies. Based around a subscription model, the newspaper has the same fonts and feel as the Daily Mail and was set up with investment from Associated Newspapers and editorial assistance from the ''Daily Mail'' newsroom.

Libel lawsuits

The ''Daily Mail'' has been involved in a number of notable libel suits. Among them are:

2010, July—£47,500 award to Parameswaran Subramanyam for falsely claiming that he secretly sustained himself with hamburgers during a 23-day hunger strike in Parliament Square to draw attention to the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka. 2009, January—£30,000 award to Dr Austen Ivereigh, who had worked for Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, following false accusations made by the newspaper concerning abortion. 2006, May—£100,000 damages for Elton John, following false accusations concerning his manners and behaviour. 2003, October—Actress Diana Rigg awarded £30,000 in damages over a story commenting on aspects of her personality. 2001, February—Businessman Alan Sugar was awarded £100,000 in damages following a story commenting on his stewardship of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

Editorial stance

In the late 1960s, the paper went through a phase of being liberal on social issues like corporal punishment, but soon returned to its traditional conservative line. In Tony Blair's early years as Labour leader and then Prime Minister, the paper wrote positively about him and his reforms of the party.

The editorial stance changed to become critical of Tony Blair in his later years as Prime Minister, and the ''Mail'' endorsed the Conservative Party in the 2005 general election. Writing for the ''New Statesman'', Johann Hari accused columnist Richard Littlejohn of having a "psychiatric disorder" about homosexuality with a "pornographic imagination."

The paper is generally critical of the BBC, which it says is biased to the left. The ''Mail'' has also opposed the growing of genetically-modified crops in the United Kingdom, a stance it shares with many of its left-wing critics.

On international affairs, the ''Mail'' broke with the establishment media consensus over the 2008 South Ossetia war between Russia and Georgia. The ''Mail'' accused the British government of dragging Britain into an unnecessary confrontation with Russia and of hypocrisy regarding its protests over Russian recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia's independence, citing the British government's own recognition of Kosovo's independence from Russia's ally Serbia.

Melanie Philips, once known as a voice for The Guardian and New Statesman moved to the right in the 1990s, writes for the ''Daily Mail'', covering political and social issues from a conservative perspective. She has defined herself as a liberal who has "been mugged by reality".

Famous stories

''The Daily Mail'''s front page of 8 July 1934, featured the headline "Hurrah for the Blackshirts". The ''Mail'' also referred to Hitler's "sturdy young Nazis".

On 7 January 1967, the ''Mail'' published a story, "The holes in our roads", about potholes, giving the examples of Blackburn where it said there were 4,000 holes. This detail was then immortalised by John Lennon in the Beatles song "A Day in the Life", along with an account of the death of 21-year-old socialite Tara Browne in a car crash on 18 December 1966, which also appeared in the same issue.

On 16 July 1993 the ''Mail'' ran the headline "Abortion hope after 'gay genes' finding"; this headline has been widely criticised in subsequent years, for example as "perhaps the most infamous and disturbing headline of all" (of headlines from tabloid newspapers commenting on the Xq28 gene).

The ''Mail'' campaigned on the case of Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager who was murdered in a racially motivated attack in Eltham, London in April 1993. On 14 February 1997, the ''Mail'' led its front page with a picture of the five men accused of Lawrence's murder and the headline "MURDERERS", stating that it believed that the men had murdered Lawrence and adding "if we are wrong, let them sue us". This attracted praise from Paul Foot and Peter Preston.

On 9 October 2009 the ''Mail'' ran the headline "Hunger striker's £7m Big Mac: Tamil who cost London a fortune in policing was sneaking in fast-food" The article stated that "Scotland Yard surveillance teams using specialist monitoring equipment had watched in disbelief" as Parameswaran Subramaniyan, a Tamil hunger striker protesting outside the Houses of Parliament, covertly broke his fast by secretly eating McDonald's burgers. When a request for an apology and retraction of this story was refused, Mr Subramanyam issued proceedings against the paper. In court, the newspaper's claim was shown to be entirely false; the Met superintendent in charge of the policing operation confirmed there had been no police surveillance team using the "specialist monitoring equipment". As a result, on 29 July 2010, Mr Subramanyam is understood to have accepted damages of £47,500 from the Daily Mail. The newspaper also paid his legal costs, withdrew the allegations and apologised "sincerely and unreservedly" for the distress that had been caused.

A 16 October 2009 Jan Moir article on the death of Stephen Gately, which many people felt was inaccurate, insensitive, and homophobic, generated over 25,000 complaints, the highest number of complaints for a newspaper article in the history of the Press Complaints Commission. Major advertisers such as Marks and Spencer responded to the criticism by asking for their own adverts to be removed from the ''Mail Online'' webpage around Moir's article. The ''Daily Mail'' removed all display ads from the webpage with the Gately column.

Supplements and features

{| |-valign=top |width=50%| ''Daily Mail'' ''City & Finance'' – City & Finance is the business part of the Daily Mail, and the Financial Mail is the business paper free with the Mail on Sunday. City & Finance features City News and the results from the London Stock Exchange, and also has its own website called ''This is Money''.

''Travelmail'' – Contains travel articles, advertisements etc.

''Femail'' – Femail is an extensive part of the ''Daily Mail'''s newspaper and website, being one of four main features on Mail Online others being News, TV & Showbiz and Sport. It is designed for women.

''Weekend'' – The ''Daily Mail Weekend'' is a TV guide published by the ''Daily Mail'', included free with the ''Mail'' every Saturday. Weekend magazine, launched in October 1993, is issued free with the Saturday ''Daily Mail''. The guide does not use a magazine-type layout but chooses a newspaper style similar to the ''Daily Mail'' itself. In April 2007, the "Weekend" had a major revamp. A feature changed during the revamp was a dedicated Freeview channel page.

|width=50%|

''Mail on Sunday''

''Financial Mail on Sunday'' – now part of the main paper, this section includes the Financial Mail Enterprise, focusing on small business.

''You'' – ''You'' magazine is a women's magazine featured in the ''Mail on Sunday''. It is a mix of in-depth features plus fashion, beauty advice, practical insights on health and relationships, food recipes and interiors. The ''Mail'' markets it, with ''Live'' magazine, as the only paper to have a magazine for him (''Live'') and for her (''You''). The ''Mail on Sunday'' is read by over six million a week. ''Live'' – this magazine is aimed at men. The main features are columns by well-known people.

''Mail on Sunday 2'' This pullout includes review, featuring articles on the arts, books and culture and it consists of reviews of all media and entertainment forms and interviews with sector personalities, property, travel and health.

''Sportsmail'' – on the back pages of the ''Mail''. It features different sports including an emphasis on alternative sports such as darts and snooker.

''Football Mail on Sunday'' – this reviews Premier League, Championship and Football League games from Saturday as well certain international games.

|}

Regular cartoon strips

''Garfield''

''I Don't Believe It'' (discontinued)

''Odd Streak''

''The Strip Show''

''Chloe and Co.'' (by Knight Features)

''Up and Running'' (by Knight Features)

''The Gambols'' (Sunday, in the Cartoons section)

''Fred Basset''

''Peanuts'' (Sunday, in the Cartoons section)

Current cartoon strips that are in the ''Daily Mail'' include ''Garfield'' which moved from the ''Daily Express'' in 2006 and is also included in ''The Mail on Sunday''. ''I Don't Believe It'' is another 3/4 part strip, written by Dick Millington. ''Odd Streak'' and ''The Strip Show'', which is shown in 3D are one part strips. ''Up and Running'' is a strip distributed by Knight Features and ''Fred Basset'' follows the life of the dog of the same name in a two part strip in the ''Daily Mail'' since 8 July 1963. ''The Gambols'' are another feature in the ''Mail on Sunday''.

The long-running ''Teddy Tail'' cartoon strip, was first published on 5 April 1915 and was the first cartoon strip in a British newspaper. It ran for over 40 years to 1960, spawning the ''Teddy Tail League'' Children's Club and many annuals from 1934 to 1942 and again from 1949 to 1962. Teddy Tail was a mouse, with friends Kitty Puss (a cat), Douglas Duck and Dr. Beetle. Teddy Tail is always shown with a knot in his tail.

Online media

The ''Daily Mail'' and ''The Mail on Sunday'' publish most of their news online in a service called the Mail Online which is viewed daily by nearly 3 million users. Most of the site can be viewed for free and without registration, though some services require users to register.

Contributors

Notable regular contributors (present)

{|width=100% |-valign=top |width=25%| Journalists

Claire Bates

Craig Brown

Alex Brummer

Julie Burchill

Rebecca Camber

Patrick Collins

Derek Draper

Sam Greenhill

Roy Hattersley

Liz Jones

|width=25%|

Des Kelly

Lester Middlehurst

Tom Kelly

Ann Leslie

Quentin Letts

Richard Littlejohn

Edward Lucas

David Mellor

Jan Moir

Julie Moult

|width=25%|

Melanie Phillips

Graham Poll

Paul Sheehan

Norman Tebbit

Michael Winner

Stephen Wright

Janet Street-Porter

|width=25%|

Cartoonists

Alex Graham

Stanley McMurtry

Photographers

Dave Parker

Mark Richards

Jamie Wiseman

|}

Past writers

Paul Callan

William Comyns Beaumont (left in 1903 to create ''The Bystander'')

Anthony Cave Brown (worked from mid-1950s to mid-1960s, won "Reporter of the Year" award in 1958)

Nigel Dempster

Simon Heffer (left in 2005 to join the ''Daily Telegraph'')

Percy Izzard Gardening and country life correspondent for over 50 years.

Ralph Izzard Journalist, author, adventurer and one time Berlin Bureau Chief, Izzard was a staff writer for the ''Mail'' beginning in 1931 and continued contributing until his death in 1992, with the only interruption being his service in British Naval Intelligence during WWII.

Paul Johnson (left the ''Mail'' in 2001)

John Junor

Lynda Lee-Potter (wrote for the ''Mail'' from 1967 until her death in 2004)

William Le Queux A prolific writer of invasion literature in the pre-First World War period. Valentine Williams (1883–1946) General news correspondent and, during the First World War, chief of the ''Daily Mail'' war service. Later a popular mystery novelist.

Keith Waterhouse

Ian Wooldridge, a sportswriter on the paper from 1961 until his death in 2007

Political allegiance

The Daily Mail is a traditional supporter of the Conservative Party, although it did back Tony Blair's "New Labour" in the 2001 general election, where they were re-elected by a landslide.

Editors

:1896: S. J. Pryor :1899: Thomas Marlowe :1922: W. G. Fish :1930: Oscar Pulvermacher :1930: William McWhirter :1931: W. L. Warden :1935: Arthur Cranfield :1939: Bob Prew :1944: Sidney Horniblow :1947: Frank Owen :1950: Guy Schofield :1955: Arthur Wareham :1959: William Hardcastle :1963: Mike Randall :1966: Arthur Brittenden :1971: David English :1992: Paul Dacre

Source: D. Butler and A. Sloman, ''British Political Facts, 1900–1975'' p. 378

See also

''Daily Chronicle'', a newspaper which merged with the ''Daily News'' to become the ''News-Chronicle'' and was finally absorbed by the ''Daily Mail''

1910 London to Manchester air race

Notes

References

External links

''Mail Online''

Category:Daily Mail and General Trust Category:Publications established in 1896 Category:Newspapers published in the United Kingdom Category:British media Category:Edwardian era Category:1896 establishments in the United Kingdom *

af:Daily Mail (Suid-Afrika) ca:Daily Mail cy:Daily Mail da:Daily Mail de:Daily Mail es:Daily Mail eo:Daily Mail fr:Daily Mail it:Daily Mail nl:Daily Mail ja:デイリー・メール no:Daily Mail pms:Daily Mail pl:Daily Mail pt:Daily Mail ro:Daily Mail ru:Daily Mail simple:Daily Mail fi:Daily Mail sv:Daily Mail tl:Daily Mail tr:Daily Mail ur:ڈیلی میل

Width	200
Position	Shooting guard / Small forward
Height ft	6|height_in 6
Weight lbs	216
Number	23, 45, 9, 12
Birth date	February 17, 1963
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York
High school	Emsley A. Laney
League
Career start	1984
Career end	2003
Draftyear	1984
Draftround	1
Draftpick	3
Draftteam	Chicago Bulls
College	North Carolina (1981–1984)
Years1	–, – |team1 Chicago Bulls
Years2	– |team2 Washington Wizards
Stat1label	Points
Stat1value	32,292 (30.1 ppg)
Stat2label	Rebounds
Stat2value	6,672 (6.2 rpg)
Stat3label	Assists
Stat3value	5,633 (5.3 apg)
Letter	j
Bbr	jordami01
Highlights	6× NBA Champion (–, –) 5× NBA Most Valuable Player (, –, , ) 14× NBA All-Star (–, –, –) 6× NBA Finals MVP (–, –) 10× NBA scoring champion (–, –) 3× NBA steals champion (, , ) NBA Defensive Player of the Year () 10× All-NBA First Team (–, –) All-NBA Second Team () 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (–, –) NBA Rookie of the Year () NBA All-Rookie First Team () 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (, , ) 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (–) NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team #23 Retired by Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat NCAA Champion (1982) 2× Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1983–1984) ACC Player of the Year (1984) Oscar Robertson Trophy (1984) Naismith College Player of the Year (1984) John R. Wooden Award (1984) Adolph Rupp Trophy (1984)
Hof player	michael-jordan }}

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a former American professional basketball player, active businessman, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

After a standout career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' National Championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film ''Space Jam'' as himself. He is the majority owner and head of basketball operations for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, having won a bidding war to buy controlling interest in the team from founding owner Robert L. Johnson.

Early years

Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Deloris (née Peoples), who worked in banking, and James R. Jordan, Sr., an equipment supervisor. His family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, when he was a toddler. Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he anchored his athletic career by playing baseball, football, and basketball. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year, but at 5'11" (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend, Harvest Leroy Smith, was the only sophomore to make the team.

Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity squad, and tallied several 40 point games. The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm) and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged about 20 points per game over his final two seasons of high school play. As a senior, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team During his three seasons at North Carolina, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rebounds per game (rpg). He was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons. After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA Draft. The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick, after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986.

Professional career

During his first season in the NBA, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting. He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas, and appeared on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' with the heading "A Star is Born" just over a month into his professional career. Jordan was also voted in as an All-Star starter by the fans in his rookie season. Controversy arose before the All-Star game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving. This led to a so called "freeze-out" on Jordan, where players refused to pass him the ball throughout the game. The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted Rookie of the Year. The Bulls finished the season 38–44, and lost in the first round of the playoffs in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Jordan's second season was cut short by a broken foot which caused him to miss 64 games. Despite Jordan's injury and a 30–52 record, the Bulls made the playoffs. Jordan recovered in time to participate in the playoffs and performed well upon his return. Against a 1985–86 Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history, Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2. The Celtics, however, managed to sweep the series.

Jordan had recovered completely by the 1986–87 season, and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history. He became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league high 37.1 points on 48.2% shooting. In addition, Jordan demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocks in a season. Despite Jordan's success, Magic Johnson won the league's Most Valuable Player Award. The Bulls reached 40 wins, and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year. However, they were again swept by the Celtics.

Mid-career: Pistons roadblock

Jordan led the league in scoring again in the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting and won his first league MVP award. He was also named the Defensive Player of the Year, as he had averaged 1.6 blocks and a league high 3.16 steals per game. The Bulls finished 50–32, and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan's career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. However, the Bulls then lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons, who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the "Bad Boys".

In the 1988–89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the field, along with 8 rpg and 8 assists per game (apg). The Bulls finished with a 47–35 record, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks along the way. The Cavaliers series included a career highlight for Jordan when he hit a series-winning shot over Craig Ehlo in the closing moments of the deciding fifth game of the series. However, the Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games, by utilizing their "Jordan Rules" method of guarding Jordan, which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball.

The Bulls entered the 1989–90 season as a team on the rise, with their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, and under the guidance of new coach Phil Jackson. Jordan averaged a league leading 33.6 ppg on 52.6% shooting, to go with 6.9 rpg and 6.3 apg in leading the Bulls to a 55–27 record. They again advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals beating the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers en route. However, despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls lost to the Pistons for the third consecutive season.

First three-peat

In the 1990–91 season, Jordan won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season. The Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in 16 years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season. With Scottie Pippen developing into an All-Star, the Bulls had elevated their play. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where their rival, the Detroit Pistons, awaited them. However, this time the Bulls beat the Pistons in a surprising sweep. In an unusual ending to the fourth and final game, Isiah Thomas led his team off the court before the final minute had concluded. Most of the Pistons went directly to their locker room instead of shaking hands with the Bulls.

The Bulls compiled an outstanding 15–2 record during the playoffs, and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, where they beat the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one. Perhaps the best known moment of the series came in Game 2 when, attempting a dunk, Jordan avoided a potential Sam Perkins block by switching the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air to lay the shot in. In his first Finals appearance, Jordan posted per game averages of 31.2 points on 56% shooting from the field, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks. Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award, and he cried while holding the NBA Finals trophy.

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991–92 season, establishing a 67–15 record, topping their franchise record from 1990 to 91. Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with averages of 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game on 52% shooting. After winning a physical 7-game series over the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in 6 games, the Bulls met Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic-Bird rivalry, highlighted the similarities between "Air" Jordan and Clyde "The Glide" during the pre-Finals hype. In the first game, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six three-point field goals. After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside. Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying, "I can't believe I'm doing this." The Bulls went on to win Game 1, and defeat the Blazers in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row and finished the series averaging 35.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 6.5 apg, while shooting 53% from the floor.

In 1992–93, despite a 32.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 5.5 apg campaign, Jordan's streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley. Coincidentally, Jordan and the Bulls met Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. The Bulls captured their third consecutive NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago's catalyst. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 ppg during the six-game series, and became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVP awards. He scored more than 30 points in every game of the series, including 40 or more points in 4 consecutive games. With his third Finals triumph, Jordan capped off a seven-year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.

Gambling controversy

During the Bulls' playoff run in 1993, controversy arose when Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey the night before a game against the New York Knicks. In that same year, he admitted to having to cover $57,000 in gambling losses, and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book claiming he had won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course. In 2005, Jordan talked to Ed Bradley of the CBS evening show ''60 Minutes'' about his gambling and admitted that he made some reckless decisions. Jordan stated, "Yeah, I've gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I've pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you're willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah." When Bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family, Jordan replied, "No."

First retirement and baseball career

On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, citing a loss of desire to play the game. Jordan later stated that the murder of his father earlier in the year shaped his decision. James R. Jordan, Sr. was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery. The assailants were traced from calls they made on James Jordan's cellular phone, caught, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. Jordan was close to his father; as a child he had imitated his father's proclivity to stick out his tongue while absorbed in work. He later adopted it as his own signature, displaying it each time he drove to the basket. In 1996 he founded a Chicago area Boys & Girls Club and dedicated it to his father.

In his 1998 autobiography ''For the Love of the Game'', Jordan wrote that he had been preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992. The added exhaustion due to the Dream Team run in the 1992 Olympics solidified Jordan's feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.

Jordan then further surprised the sports world by signing a minor league baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox. He reported to spring training and was assigned to the team's minor league system on March 31, 1994. Jordan has stated this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who had always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball player. The White Sox were another team owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball. In 1994, Jordan played for the Birmingham Barons, a Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, batting .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, and 11 errors. He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League, batting .252 against the top prospects in baseball.

"I'm back": Return to the NBA

In the 1993–94 season, the Bulls, without Jordan, achieved a 55–27 record, and lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs. But the 1994–95 version of the Bulls was a shell of the championship squad of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago was 31–31 at one point in mid-March. The team received a lift, however, when Jordan decided to return to the NBA for the Bulls.

On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a pithy press release: "I'm back." The next day, Jordan donned jersey number 45 (his number with the Barons), as his familiar 23 had been retired in his honor following his first retirement. He took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points. The game had the highest Nielsen rating of a regular season NBA game since 1975.

Although he had not played in an NBA game in a year and a half, Jordan played well upon his return, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back. He then scored 55 points in his fifth game back against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995 (his first appearance at Madison Square Garden since retiring). Boosted by Jordan's comeback, the Bulls went 13-4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic. At the end of the first game of the series, though, Orlando's Nick Anderson would strip Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he would later comment that Jordan "didn't look like the old Michael Jordan", after which Jordan returned to wearing his old number (23). Jordan averaged 31 points per game in that series, but Orlando prevailed in six games.

Second three-peat

Freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, Jordan trained aggressively for the 1995–96 season. Strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist Dennis Rodman, the Bulls dominated the league, starting the season 41–3, and eventually finishing with the best regular season record in NBA history: 72–10. Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 ppg, and won the league's regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards. In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series, defeating the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals to win the championship. Jordan was named Finals MVP for a record fourth time, surpassing Magic Johnson's three Finals MVP awards. He also achieved only the second sweep of the MVP Awards in the All-Star Game, regular season and NBA Finals, Willis Reed having achieved the first, during the 1969–70 season. Because this was Jordan's first championship since his father's death, and it was won on Father's Day, Jordan reacted very emotionally upon winning the title, including a memorable scene of him sobbing on the locker room floor with the game ball.

In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls started out 69–11, but narrowly missed out on a second consecutive 70-win season by losing their final two games to finish 69–13. However, this year Jordan was beaten for the NBA MVP Award by Karl Malone. The team again advanced to the Finals, where they faced Malone and the Utah Jazz. The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan's career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, with the series tied 2–2, Jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. In what is known as the "flu game", Jordan scored 38 points including the game-deciding three-pointer with less than a minute remaining. The Bulls won 90–88 and went on to win the series in six games. For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award. During the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, Jordan posted the first triple double in All-Star Game history in a victorious effort; however, he did not receive the MVP award.

Jordan and the Bulls compiled a 62–20 record in the 1997–98 season. Jordan led the league with 28.7 points per game, securing his fifth regular-season MVP award, plus honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team and the All-Star Game MVP. The Bulls captured the Eastern Conference Championship for a third straight season, including surviving a grueling seven-game series with Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals; it was the first time Jordan had played in a Game 7 since the 1992 series with the Knicks. After prevailing, they moved on for a rematch with the Jazz in the Finals.

The Bulls returned to Utah for Game 6 on June 14, 1998 leading the series 3–2. Jordan executed a series of plays, considered to be one of the greatest clutch performances in NBA Finals history. With the Bulls trailing 86–83 with 40 seconds remaining, coach Jackson called a timeout. When play resumed, Jordan received the inbound pass, drove to the basket, and hit a layup over several Jazz defenders. The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to forward Karl Malone, who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by Rodman. Malone jostled with Rodman and caught the pass, but Jordan cut behind him and swatted the ball out of his hands for a steal. Jordan then slowly dribbled upcourt and paused at the top of the key, eyeing his defender, Jazz guard Bryon Russell. With fewer than 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, then crossed over to his left, possibly pushing off Russell, although the officials did not call a foul. Jordan then made what would become the climactic shot of his career. After a desperation three-point shot by John Stockton missed, Jordan and the Bulls claimed their sixth NBA championship, and secured a second three-peat. Once again, Jordan was voted the Finals MVP, having led all scorers by averaging 33.5 points per game, including 45 in the deciding Game 6. Jordan's six Finals MVPs is a record; Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, and Tim Duncan are tied for second place with three apiece. The 1998 Finals holds the highest television rating of any Finals series in history, and Game 6 holds the highest television rating of any game in NBA history.

Second retirement

With Phil Jackson's contract expiring, the pending departures of Scottie Pippen (who stated his desire to be traded during the season) and Dennis Rodman (who would sign with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent) looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired for the second time on January 13, 1999.

On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player, but as part owner and President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards. Jordan's responsibilities with the Wizards were comprehensive. He controlled all aspects of the Wizards' basketball operations, and had the final say in all personnel matters. Opinions of Jordan as a basketball executive were mixed. He managed to purge the team of several highly paid, unpopular players (such as forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland), but used the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft to select high schooler Kwame Brown, who did not live up to expectations and was traded away after four seasons.

Despite his January 1999 claim that he was "99.9% certain" that he would never play another NBA game, in the summer of 2001 Jordan expressed interest in making another comeback, this time with his new team. Inspired by the NHL comeback of his friend Mario Lemieux the previous winter, Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago. In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington's coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing another Jordan return.

Washington Wizards comeback

On September 25, 2001 Jordan announced his return to professional play with the Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. In an injury-plagued 2001–02 season, he led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.42 spg). However, torn cartilage in his right knee ended Jordan's season after only 60 games, the fewest he had played in a regular season since playing 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the 1994–95 season.

Playing in his 14th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2003, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star game history. That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He also shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free throw line. Even though he turned 40 during the season, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine times, and 40 or more points three times. On February 21, 2003, Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 43 points in an NBA game. During his stint with the Wizards, all of Jordan's home games at the MCI Center were sold out, and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the NBA, averaging 20,172 fans a game at home and 19,311 on the road. However, neither of Jordan's final two seasons resulted in a playoff appearance for the Wizards, and Jordan was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him. At several points he openly criticized his teammates to the media, citing their lack of focus and intensity, notably that of the number one draft pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, Kwame Brown.

With the recognition that 2002–03 would be Jordan's final season, tributes were paid to him throughout the NBA. In his final game at his old home court, the United Center in Chicago, Jordan received a four-minute standing ovation. The Miami Heat retired the number 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan had never played for the team. At the 2003 All-Star Game, Jordan was offered a starting spot from Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson, but refused both; in the end, however, he accepted the spot of Vince Carter, who decided to give it up under great public pressure.

Jordan's final NBA game was on April 16, 2003 in Philadelphia. After scoring only 13 points in the game, Jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter and with his team trailing the Philadelphia 76ers, 75–56. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the First Union Center crowd began chanting "We want Mike!". After much encouragement from coach Doug Collins, Jordan finally rose from the bench and re-entered the game for Larry Hughes with 2:35 remaining. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers' Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, the officials and a crowd of 21,257 fans.

Olympic career

Jordan played on two Olympic gold medal-winning American basketball teams. As a college player he participated, and won the gold, in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Jordan led the team in scoring averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament.

In the 1992 Summer Olympics he was a member of the star-studded squad that included Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and David Robinson and was dubbed the "Dream Team". Playing limited minutes due to the frequent blowouts, Jordan averaged 12.7 ppg, finishing fourth on the team in scoring. Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and fellow Dream Team member Chris Mullin are the only American men's basketball players to win Olympic gold as amateurs (all in 1984) and professionals.

In addition, Jordan and fellow Dream Team member (and Bulls teammate) Scottie Pippen are the only players to have won both NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year (1992).

After retiring as a player

After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position of Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards. However, his previous tenure in the Wizards' front office had produced the aforementioned mixed results and may have also influenced the trade of Richard "Rip" Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse (although Jordan was not technically Director of Basketball Operations in 2002). On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as Washington's President of Basketball Operations. Jordan later stated that he felt betrayed, and that if he knew he would be fired upon retiring he never would have come back to play for the Wizards.

Jordan kept busy over the next few years by staying in shape, playing golf in celebrity charity tournaments, spending time with his family in Chicago, promoting his Jordan Brand clothing line, and riding motorcycles. Since 2004, Jordan has owned Michael Jordan Motorsports, a professional closed-course motorcycle road racing team that competes with two Suzukis in the premier Superbike class sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). Jordan and his then-wife Juanita pledged $5 million to Chicago's Hales Franciscan High School in 2006, and the Jordan Brand has made donations to Habitat for Humanity and a Louisiana branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. On June 15, 2006, Jordan bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming the team's second-largest shareholder behind majority owner Robert L. Johnson. As part of the deal, Jordan was named "Managing Member of Basketball Operations," with full control over the basketball side of the operation. Despite Jordan's previous success as an endorser, he has made an effort not to be included in Charlotte's marketing campaigns.

In February 2010, it was reported that Jordan was seeking majority ownership of the Bobcats. As February wore on, it emerged that the leading contenders for the team were Jordan and former Houston Rockets president George Postolos. On February 27, the Bobcats announced that Johnson had reached an agreement with Jordan and his group, MJ Basketball Holdings, to buy the team pending NBA approval. On March 17, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Jordan's purchase, making him the first former NBA player ever to become the majority owner of a league franchise.

Player profile

Jordan was a shooting guard who was also capable of playing small forward (the position he would primarily play during his second return to professional basketball with the Washington Wizards). Jordan was known throughout his career for being a strong clutch performer. He decided numerous games with last-second plays (e.g., The Shot) and performed at a high level even under adverse circumstances (e.g., Flu Game). His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash-talk and well-known work ethic.

Jordan had a versatile offensive game. He was capable of aggressively driving to the basket, as well as drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate; his 8,772 free throw attempts are the ninth highest total of all time. As his career progressed, Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jump shot, using his leaping ability to "fade away" from block attempts. According to Hubie Brown, this move alone made him nearly unstoppable. Despite media criticism as a "selfish" player early in his career, Jordan's 5.3 assists per game also indicate his willingness to defer to his teammates. In later years, the NBA shortened its three-point line to 22 feet (from 23 feet, 9 inches), which coupled with Jordan's extended shooting range to make him a long-range threat as well—his 3-point stroke developed from a low 9 / 52 rate (.173) in his rookie year into a stellar 111 / 260 (.427) shooter in the 1995–96 season. For a guard, Jordan was also a good rebounder (6.2 per game).

In 1988, Jordan was honored with the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award and became the first NBA player to win both the Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards in a career (since equaled by Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Kevin Garnett; Olajuwon is the only player other than Jordan to win both during the same season). In addition he set both seasonal and career records for blocked shots by a guard, and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout defensive player. His 2,514 steals are the second highest total of all-time behind John Stockton, while his steals per game average is third all-time. Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Jordan's defensive contributions than his offensive ones.

Legacy

Jordan's basketball talent was clear from his rookie season. In his first game in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, Jordan received a prolonged standing ovation, a rarity for an opposing player. After Jordan scored a playoff record 63 points against the Boston Celtics in 1986, Celtics star Larry Bird described him as "God disguised as Michael Jordan."

Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 10 seasons (NBA record) and tied Wilt Chamberlain's record of seven consecutive scoring titles. He was also a fixture on the NBA All-Defensive First Team, making the roster nine times (NBA record shared with Gary Payton). Jordan also holds the top career regular season and playoff scoring averages of 30.1 and 33.4 points per game, respectively. By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning shot against the Jazz, he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer. In the regular season, Jordan was the Bulls' primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs, Jordan would always demand the ball at crunch time. Jordan's total of 5,987 points in the playoffs is the highest in NBA history. He retired with 32,292 points in regular season play, placing him third on the NBA's all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.

With five regular-season MVPs (tied for second place with Bill Russell; only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won more, six), six Finals MVPs (NBA record), and three All-Star MVPs, Jordan is the most decorated player ever to play in the NBA. Jordan finished among the top three in regular-season MVP voting a record 10 times, and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.

Many of Jordan's contemporaries label Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time. An ESPN survey of journalists, athletes and other sports figures ranked Jordan the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century, above icons such as Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali. Jordan placed second to Babe Ruth in the Associated Press's list of 20th century athletes. In addition, the Associated Press voted him as the basketball player of the 20th century. Jordan has also appeared on the front cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' a record 49 times. In the September 1996 issue of ''Sport'', which was the publication's 50th anniversary issue, Jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years.

Jordan's athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back slam dunk contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many with having influenced a generation of young players. Several current NBA All-Stars have stated that they considered Jordan their role model while growing up, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players "the next Michael Jordan" upon their entry to the NBA, including Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Vince Carter, and Dwyane Wade. Although Jordan was a well-rounded player, his "Air Jordan" image is also often credited with inadvertently decreasing the jump shooting skills, defense, and fundamentals of young players, a fact which Jordan himself has lamented. Although Jordan has done much to increase the status of the game, some of his impact on the game's popularity in America appears to be fleeting. Television ratings in particular increased only during his time in the league and have subsequently lowered each time he left the game.

In August 2009, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened a Michael Jordan exhibit containing items from his college and NBA careers, as well as from the 1992 "Dream Team". The exhibit also has a batting glove to signify Jordan's short career in baseball. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in September 2009, with former Bulls teammates Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoc in attendance.

Personal life

Jordan is the fourth of five children. He has two older brothers, Larry Jordan and James R. Jordan, Jr., one older sister, Deloris, and a younger sister, Roslyn. Jordan's brother James retired in 2006 as the Command Sergeant Major of the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army.

He married Juanita Vanoy in September 1989, and they have two sons, Jeffrey Michael and Marcus James, and a daughter, Jasmine. Jordan and Vanoy filed for divorce on January 4, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences, but reconciled shortly thereafter. They again filed for divorce and were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage on December 29, 2006, commenting that the decision was made "mutually and amicably". It is reported that Juanita received a $168 million settlement, making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement in history at the time on public record.

On July 21, 2006, a Cook County, Illinois judge determined that Jordan did not owe his alleged former lover Karla Knafel $5 million. Jordan had allegedly paid Knafel $250,000 to keep their relationship a secret. Knafel claimed Jordan promised her $5 million for remaining silent and agreeing not to file a paternity suit after Knafel learned she was pregnant in 1991. A DNA test showed Jordan was not the father of the child.

As of 2007, Jordan lived in Highland Park, Illinois, and both of his sons attended Loyola Academy, a private Roman Catholic high school located in Wilmette, Illinois. Jeffrey graduated as a member of the 2007 graduating class and played his first collegiate basketball game on November 11, 2007, for the University of Illinois. After two seasons, Jeffrey left the Illinois basketball team in 2009. He later rejoined the team for a third season, then received a release to transfer to the University of Central Florida, where Marcus was attending. Marcus transferred to Whitney Young High School after his sophomore year and graduated in 2009. He began attending UCF in the fall of 2009.

Media figure and business interests

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, Wheaties, Hanes, and MCI. Jordan has had a long relationship with Gatorade, appearing in over 20 commercials for the company since 1991, including the "Like Mike" commercials in which a song was sung by children wishing to be like Jordan.

Nike created a signature shoe for him, called the ''Air Jordan''. One of Jordan's more popular commercials for the shoe involved Spike Lee playing the part of Mars Blackmon. In the commercials Lee, as Blackmon, attempted to find the source of Jordan's abilities and became convinced that "it's gotta be the shoes". The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spate of "shoe-jackings" where people were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. Subsequently Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own division named the "Jordan Brand". The company features an impressive list of athletes and celebrities as endorsers. The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina, Cincinnati, Cal, St. John's, Georgetown, and North Carolina A&T;.

Jordan also has been associated with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial shown during the 1993 Super Bowl XXVII featured Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball against a group of Martian characters. The Super Bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action/animated movie ''Space Jam'', which starred Jordan and Bugs in a fictional story set during his first retirement. They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI.

Jordan's yearly income from the endorsements is estimated to be over forty million dollars. In addition, when Jordan's power at the ticket gates was at its highest point the Bulls regularly sold out every game they played in, whether home or away. Due to this, Jordan set records in player salary by signing annual contracts worth in excess of $30 million US$ per season. An academic study found that Jordan’s first NBA comeback resulted in an increase in the market capitalization of his client firms of more than $1 billion.

Most of Jordan's endorsement deals, including the first deal with Nike, were engineered by his agent, David Falk. Jordan has said of Falk that "he's the best at what he does", and that "marketing-wise, he's great. He's the one who came up with the concept of 'Air Jordan.'"

In June 2010, Jordan was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 20th most powerful celebrity in the world with $55 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010. According to the Forbes article, Brand Jordan generates $1 billion in sales for Nike.

Honors and awards

Jordan won numerous awards and set many records during his career. The following are some of his achievements:

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009

2 Olympic Gold Medals – 1984, 1992

6-time NBA Champion

6-time NBA Finals MVP

5-time NBA MVP

10 NBA Scoring Titles

3-time steals leader

3-time minutes leader

14 NBA All-Star Selections

3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP

11 All-NBA Selections

9 All-Defensive First Team Selections

2-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion – 1987, 1988

NBA Rookie of the Year – NBA Defensive Player of the Year –

NCAA National Championship – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 1981–82

ACC Freshman of the Year – 1981–82

2-time Consensus NCAA All-American First Team – 1982–83, 1983–84

ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year – 1983–84

USBWA College Player of the Year – 1983–84

Naismith College Player of the Year – 1983–84

John R. Wooden Award – 1983–84

Adolph Rupp Trophy – 1983–84

''Sports Illustrated'' Sportsman of the Year – 1991

Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996

Ranked No.1 by SLAM Magazine's Top 50 Players of All-Time

Ranked No.1 by ESPN Sportscentury's Top 100 Athletes of the 20th century

Elected to North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame

See also

Michael Jordan Steakhouse

Michael Jordan's Restaurant

''Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City''

''Michael Jordan in Flight''

''NBA 2K11''

References

Further reading

External links

Michael Jordan biography at NBA Encyclopedia

Michael Jordan player profile at NBA.com

Michael Jordan Motorsports

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Name	John Isner
Nickname	Marathon Man, Izzy
Country	United States
Residence	Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Birth date	April 26, 1985
Birth place	Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Height
Weight
College	University of Georgia
Turnedpro	2007
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$2,597,771
Website	www.johnisner.com
Singlesrecord	112–84
Singlestitles	3
Highestsinglesranking	No. 18 (July 5, 2010)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 22 (August 28, 2011)
Australianopenresult	4R (2010)
Frenchopenresult	3R (2010)
Wimbledonresult	2R (2010, 2011)
Usopenresult	4R (2009)
Doublesrecord	59–45
Doublestitles	3
Highestdoublesranking	No. 27 (May 17, 2010)
Currentdoublesranking	No. 32 (August 30, 2010)
Australianopendoublesresult	QF (2009)
Frenchopendoublesresult	3R (2008)
Usopendoublesresult	2R (2009)
Updated	January 10, 2011 }}

John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of No. 18 on July 5, 2010, and has been as high as the second-ranked American tennis player behind Andy Roddick. His most famous victories were against Roddick in the 2009 US Open, and against Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships where he played the longest ever professional tennis match, which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes over the course of three days.

Collegiate career

Isner played collegiate tennis at the University of Georgia from 2004 to 2007 and became the school's all-time leader in singles and doubles victories, earning All-American honors each of his four years and leading Georgia to the 2007 NCAA championship.

Professional career

2007

Isner began his professional career in earnest in the summer of 2007. With a world ranking of No. 839, he needed wild card entries into the main draws of every tournament, even at the Futures level.

He won his first tournament of the fall, the USA F14 Futures, beating the top 3 seeds along the way. Then, after first round losses in an Challenger-level and an ATP-level tournament, he beat 5 top-300 players and 3 seeds to win the Lexington challenger in July to improve his ranking to No. 416 after just one month.

At the following week's tournament at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., Fernando González's late withdrawal freed up a wild card spot, which was given at the last minute to Isner. Isner took full advantage of his good fortune, recording his first-ever wins over top-100 players. He won third-set tiebreakers on five consecutive days, beating No. 73 Tim Henman, No. 47 Benjamin Becker, No. 189 qualifier Wayne Odesnik, No. 12 Tommy Haas, and No. 54 Gaël Monfils, to reach the final, where he fell to fellow American Andy Roddick. His incredible week raised his ranking to No. 193 in the world after just 6 weeks on the pro tour.

Isner's Washington success earned him wild card entries into three more ATP tournaments: the Masters Series event in Cincinnati a week later, New Haven, and the US Open. He lost in the first round in Cincinnati to quarterfinalist No. 15 David Ferrer. The following week in New Haven, he beat No. 49 Becker a second time before falling to Ferrer for the 2nd week in a row.

In his US Open debut he defeated the 26th-seeded player, former quarterfinalist Jarkko Nieminen, and fired 34 aces along the way. He proceeded to win his second round match vs. Rik de Voest before losing in the 3rd round to top-seed and eventual champion Roger Federer. Isner was one of only two players to take a set off of Federer in the championship. His US Open performance improved his ranking to No. 144.

After the US Open, Isner continued to play exclusively in North America, and finished the year ranked No. 107. That year, Isner was added to the United States Davis Cup team as a practice partner.

2008

Isner's No. 106 ranking in November, 2007 was just good enough to get him direct entry into his first Australian Open, after several players ranked above him dropped out. He was defeated in the first round of the 2008 Australian Open by veteran Fabrice Santoro of France. Teamed with Croat Ivo Karlović (the tallest player on the ATP tour), Isner also lost in the first round of doubles.

Isner broke into the top-100 at No. 93 in February with a quarter-final appearance at the ATP stop in San Jose, beating No. 90 Florent Serra and No. 26 Tommy Haas. He established himself as a top-100 player in the first 3 months of the year, beating 6 players in the top-100 while playing exclusively in ATP-level events. Isner played in his first French Open and Wimbledon, losing in the first round of each. He also played in the US Open, where he lost in the first round. He ended the year ranked 144th in the world.

2009

Isner qualified for the singles draw of the 2009 Heineken Open in Auckland, after winning three consecutive three-set matches in qualifying. His final match saw him bounce back from a 0–3 deficit in the third set to eventually beat Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in a tie-breaker. In the main draw, Isner beat Albert Montañés and countryman Robby Ginepri before bowing out in the quarter-finals to Robin Söderling.

Isner received a wild card entry into the 2009 Australian Open after winning the United States Tennis Association's wildcard tournament, beating Donald Young and Jesse Levine along the way. Despite serving 39 aces against his first-round opponent, Slovakia's Dominik Hrbatý, he lost in four sets. Isner began working with new coach, Craig Boynton, who had previously coached former world No. 1 Jim Courier in the 1990s, in March 2009.

At the 2009 Indian Wells tournament, Isner pulled off a major upset by defeating the number 9 seed, French player Gaël Monfils. This was Isner's first win over a top-10 player after four previous defeats. He then went on to defeat former world No. 1 Marat Safin, before losing to world No. 6 Juan Martín del Potro in the fourth round.

In April 2009 at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas at River Oaks Country Club, Isner made it as far as the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by fellow American Wayne Odesnik. Isner qualified for the French Open, but had to withdraw after being diagnosed with mononucleosis, which caused him to miss Wimbledon as well.

In August 2009, he defeated world No. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world No. 18 Tomáš Berdych en route to the semifinals of the ATP World Tour 500 event in Washington before losing to world No. 5 Andy Roddick. This performance brought him to a career-high ranking of 55, and a special exemption into the Masters 1000 Series event in Montreal, where he defeated Jesse Levine before losing to Mikhail Youzhny. He earned a wildcard into the Masters 1000 Series event in Cincinnati, where he defeated World No. 21 Tommy Haas before losing to world No. 35 Jérémy Chardy in the second round. Unseeded and ranked 55 in the world entering the US Open, Isner defeated world No. 29 Victor Hănescu in the first round, which was his first in a Grand Slam tournament since the 2007 US Open, ending a streak of six consecutive defeats. He then advanced to the third round, where he defeated world No. 5 and fellow American Andy Roddick in five sets for his first victory over Roddick, his first victory in a five-set match, and the first time he advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam tournament. He was then defeated in the fourth round by world No. 10 Fernando Verdasco in four sets. His US Open performance brought his ranking to a career high No. 39.

After playing in Vienna, Basel, and the Paris Masters, Isner finished the year at a career-high No. 34 in the world. He has credited his work with Boynton for helping him get back on track following his disappointing 2008 season.

His progress was acknowledged by his peers, as he was voted the ATP Most Improved Player for 2009, becoming the tenth American to win the award, and the first since Andre Agassi in 1998.

2010

Isner began the year at the 2010 Heineken Open in Auckland. Unseeded, he reached his second career ATP final and first since Washington in 2007. In the final, he saved a championship point to defeat 2001 Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clément for the championship. The victory in Auckland was Isner's first ATP tour title; after the victory he donated $5,000 of his winnings to aid rescue action for the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

The victory catapulted Isner into the top 30 for the first time, and also allowed him to surpass Sam Querrey to become the second-highest ranked American for the first time, behind only Andy Roddick. Isner said he intended to finish the year in the top 20, and given his ascendency in the world rankings combined with the absence of Roddick and James Blake for the 2010 Davis Cup season, it became increasingly likely that Isner would qualify to play singles for the US Davis Cup team for the first time in his career.

After Gilles Simon withdrew, Isner became the final seed for the 2010 Australian Open. In the first round, he defeated world No. 49 Andreas Seppi for his first victory ever at the Australian Open and his first victory at a Grand Slam other than the US Open. He then advanced to the round of 16 before bowing out to world No. 4 and eventual finalist Andy Murray.

After the Australian Open, Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe announced that Isner and Querrey would be first and second singles on the 2010 United States Davis Cup team for the team's 2010 Davis Cup World Group first-round match at Serbia on indoor clay in March 2010; Isner described the selection as "a dream come true".

Isner next entered the 2010 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis. Seeded sixth, he made it to the finals before losing to fellow American Sam Querrey. In the doubles event, Isner teamed up with Querrey to win the tournament, defeating British-Australian pair of Ross Hutchins and Jordan Kerr.

Prior to the Davis Cup tie, Isner competed at the 2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel Championships, an ATP World Tour 500 series event on clay, where he was the fifth seed. He lost in the first round to Simon Greul. Despite the loss, Isner following the tournament moved into the top 20 for the first time.

Isner appeared at the 2010 Davis Cup first round, where USA was up against Serbia (on the clay court surface). In his two singles matches, he faced Serbia's team of world No. 2 Novak Djokovic and world No. 35 Viktor Troicki. He lost the 1st singles match against Viktor Troicki, but bounced back by winning the doubles match with Bob Bryan, as a replacement for food-poisoned Mike Bryan. In his 2nd singles match, he lost to Novak Djokovic, which enabled Serbia to defeat the United States.

At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, he was seeded No. 15, and advanced to the fourth round before losing to world No. 2 and defending champion Rafael Nadal.

Afterwards, he appeared in the second master series tournament of the season, the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open Masters 1000 in Miami, as the 17th seed. He advanced to the third round before losing to No. 12 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Isner began the clay court season with an opening-round loss to world No. 89 Xavier Malisse at the U.S. Men's Claycourt Championship, followed by a round of 32 showing at his first-ever Rome Masters where he defeated Horacio Zeballos before losing to Thomaz Bellucci. However, he teamed with Querrey to reach the doubles final in Rome before losing to Bob and Mike Bryan; his doubles performance raised his doubles ranking to the top-30 for the first time.

His next tournament was the 2010 Serbian Open, where he was the second seed behind defending champion, tournament host, and world number two Djokovic. Isner advanced to the first claycourt final of his career, third final of the year, and fourth final of his career. In the final, he lost to Querrey, despite having a match point while serving up 6–3, 5–4; this was the second consecutive final Isner lost to Querrey after serving for the championship. However, Isner's finals performance improved his ranking to a career-high number 19.

Isner's next tournament was his debut appearance at the Madrid Masters. Seeded thirteenth, he advanced to the round of 16 before losing to world No. 3 and eventual champion Nadal.

Isner then played in the 2010 French Open; his ranking assured his first direct seed into a Grand Slam event. Seeded 17th, he defeated Andrey Golubev in the first round for his first ever singles victory at the French Open. He advanced to the third round, before losing to No. 15 seed and eventual semifinalist Tomáš Berdych. In the doubles, he and Querrey were the 12th seeds, but withdrew prior to the start of the tournament after Querrey's first round loss in singles.

Despite being ranked No. 19 in the world entering the Wimbledon, Isner was seeded No. 24 by the tournament committee due to his lack of playing much on grass, but was moved up to No. 23 following the withdrawal of Radek Štěpánek. In the first round, Isner played Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history, prevailing 6–4, 3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 70–68. However, fatigued and having little time to recover his energy, Isner was beaten by Thiemo de Bakker in the second round, 0–6, 3–6, 2–6, having served no aces. He also pulled out of the doubles, where he and Querrey had been 12th seeds. Despite having been eliminated in the second round, Isner's total of 113 aces were more than any other player throughout the championship. His Wimbledon performance brought his ranking to a career-high No. 18 in the world.

Isner's next tournament was the 2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships, where he played doubles with James Blake and reached the semifinals. In singles, Isner was the number two seed, and made it to his fourth final of the year, before losing to fellow compatriot Mardy Fish, which dropped his career record in finals to 1–4 (0–4 against Americans).

Isner next competed at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, the ATP World Tour 500 series event in Washington, D.C. and site of his breakthrough performance in 2007. Isner was also to compete in the doubles with Sam Querrey, but withdrew due to shoulder concerns. Seeded fifth in the singles, Isner made it to the round of 16 before losing to Xavier Malisse.

Isner next played in the Cincinnati Masters, where he was unseeded. After defeating Łukasz Kubot in the first round he faced 2002 Wimbledon finalist and 2005 Tennis Masters Cup champion David Nalbandian, but was forced to retire up a break at 5–4 in the first set after injuring his right ankle. Although Isner was found to have suffered ligament damage to the ankle, he chose not to withdraw from the US Open singles tournament.

At the 2010 US Open, Isner was the 18th seed and defeated Frederico Gil in the first round. After the match he revealed that although the initial diagnosis was a right ankle ligament tear, a second opinion revealed that the damage was a strain and not a tear, and he declared his ankle 90% healed. He then advanced to the third round before losing to number 12 seed and 2006 US Open semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny. The loss dropped Isner out of the top twenty, and from the number two to the number four ranked American player. Due to his ankle injury, he chose not to compete in the doubles.

Following the US Open, Isner participated with Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey in the Davis Cup tie against Colombia, winning the doubles match with Fish as his partner. The US won the match 3–1 to remain in the 2011 Davis Cup world group. Isner was next granted a wildcard to participate in the 2010 China Open, his first time competing in Beijing. In the doubles, he teamed with Querrey, losing in the first round to Bob and Mike Bryan. In the singles, Isner was unseeded, but made it to the semifinals before losing to world No. 2 and defending champion Novak Djokovic 7–6, 6–2. Isner next competed in the Shanghai Masters, where he was unseeded, and made it to the second round before losing to world No. 3 and reigning Australian Open champion Roger Federer in their first meeting since the 2007 US Open.

2011

On 8 January, Isner began the year by winning, with Bethanie Mattek-Sands, for the USA, the (mixed doubles) Hopman Cup Final by 6–1, 6–3 against Belgium: Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans.

Following his win in Perth, Isner returned to Auckland to defend his ATP title at the 2011 Heineken Open. After a bye in his first round the third seed faced Dutch world number 52 Robin Haase. Isner defeated Hasse 3–6, 7–6, 7–5 to go through to the quarterfinals where he was defeated by David Nalbandian in straight sets 4–6, 6–7.

Isner next played in the first Grand Slam on the 2011 calendar the Australian Open. Isner, entered the tournament seeded at 20 and received a tough draw including Radek Štěpánek, Marin Čilić and Rafael Nadal. Isner came up against French world number 69 Florent Serra who he easily defeated 6–3, 7–6, 6–3. Isner faced Radek Štěpánek in the second round. After losing the first set 4–6, Isner rallied to defeat Stepanek 4–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–1 to progress into the third round. In the third round Isner faced fellow top 20 player Marin Čilić, the match went to five sets with Cilic emerging as the eventual winner 4–6, 6–2, 6–7, 7–6, 9–7.

At the 2011 French Open, Isner was drawn against number one seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal. Isner took what was considered a surprise two-sets-to-one lead against Nadal, who had never played a five set match at Roland Garros and had only been defeated once there in the previous six years, before he was eventually defeated 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 6–2, 6–4. Nadal went on to win the title. Ironically, in the 2011 Wimbledon men's singles draw, Isner was paired against Mahut in the first round, a rematch of the world's longest match from the previous year's tournament, which he went on to win in straight sets. However, he lost in the second round to the #16 seed Nicolas Almagro in four sets, dropping his 2011 record to 11–14.

Isner next took a last-minute wild card to participate in the 2011 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, replacing compatriot and defending champion Mardy Fish, who was chosen to play in the Davis Cup for the United States during the same weekend as the tournament. Isner was the top seed, and defeated Karol Beck, 2001 Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clement, Alex Bogomolov, Jr., and Tobias Kamke without dropping a set, to reach his first career grass court final. In the final, he defeated Olivier Rochus 6–3, 7–6 to become the first top-seed in 35 years to win the event. The title was his first of 2011 and second of his career, raised his record in ATP finals to 2–0 against non-Americans, and ended a three-match losing streak in finals. The championship raised Isner's world ranking from #48 to #36.

Isner next played in the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships, where he was the #3 seed. He defeated James Blake, Lu Yen-hsun and Gilles Muller to reach his second consecutive tour final, and successfully defended the ranking points he acquired from reaching the final of this event in 2010. In the final, he will face fellow American, #1 seed, and world #9 Mardy Fish in a rematch of the 2010 final. Isner was ultimately defeated by Fish 6–3, 6–7, 2–6. He then reached the semi finals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, defeating Tobias Kamke, James Blake, Victor Troicki, before losing to Gael Monfils 4–6, 6–3, 6–7.

At the Rogers Cup, Isner defeated Marcos Baghdatis 6–3, 6–4 but lost to Viktor Troicki 4–6, 6–3, 2–6 in the second round. Isner won the Winston-Salem Open as the fourth seed. Defeating Dudi Sela, Jarkko Nieminen, Marcos Baghdatis and Andy Roddick in the semi finals, before defeating Julien Benneteau 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

Longest match in history

In the singles as the 23rd seed at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, Isner, attempting to win his first 2010 match at Wimbledon, faced qualifier Nicolas Mahut in the first round. Isner won the match 6–4, 3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 70–68.

In the match, Isner set the record for most aces in a match, breaking Ivo Karlović's record of 78; Mahut passed the old mark as well. Isner served an all-time record of 113 aces, ahead of the 103 aces served by Mahut.

At 21:13 BST on June 23 the match was suspended due to darkness for a second day at 59–59 in the fifth set. The match resumed on 24 June, at 15:30 BST, starting the third day of the match. Overall, the match lasted eleven hours and five minutes. Isner also set the record for most games won in a Wimbledon match with 92.

The match brought Isner a measure of fame, particularly in the United States. He had guest appearances on "Good Morning America" and the "Late Show with David Letterman", and threw the ceremonial first pitch at a New York Yankees game in Yankee Stadium. He and Mahut also won the 2010 ESPY Award for Best Record-Breaking Performance in sport.

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center |+Line Score: !width=250| !width=50|1 (32') !width=50|2 (29') !width=50|3 (49') !width=50|4 (64') !width=50|5 (491') |- ! Nicolas Mahut (Q) |4||6||7||6^{3||68 |- ! John Isner (23rd) |6||3||67||7||'''70 |}}

Playing style and equipment

Isner has a powerful serve, thanks in part to his 6-ft, 9-in height. Commentators have also praised his composure; in five consecutive 3rd-set tiebreaker wins in Washington, he delivered huge serves when it mattered most. Isner also has a very powerful forehand as well. On serve, Isner often goes for one-two points, a big serve followed up by a big forehand. He is also known to back up his serves with approaches to the net, though he does not strictly serve-and-volley. Isner's movement around the court is hampered by his body and he is hurt by players who move him around the court. Isner's fitness has improved considerably over the years and he displayed this during his win in the longest tennis match ever at Wimbledon against Nicolas Mahut.

He is sponsored by Nike and Prince for his attire and racquets respectively.

Personal life

Isner was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He has two older brothers, Nathan and Jordan. Isner started playing tennis seriously at age 11 under the tutelage of Oscar Blacutt and Rob Stephens at the Carolina Tennis Academy. He is a graduate of Walter Hines Page Senior High School, in Greensboro, and the University of Georgia, where he majored in Speech Communication. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida where he trains at the Saddlebrook Academy alongside other American tennis pros such as James Blake and Mardy Fish. Isner is currently single and has never been married. Isner is Jewish.

Records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

{|class=wikitable !width=200|Tournament!!width=50|Year!!width=200|Record accomplished!!width=200|Player tied/shares with |- |rowspan=8|Wimbledon |rowspan=8|2010 |Most aces in an ATP singles match (113)||''Stands alone |- |Most aces in a Grand Slam singles match (113)||''Stands alone |- |Most aces in a single set (85)||''Stands alone |- |Most games won in a single match (92)||''Stands alone |- |Most winners in a single match (246)||''Stands alone |- |Longest singles match ever played (11 hours, 5 minutes)||Nicolas Mahut |- |Longest play in a single day (7 hours, 6 minutes)||Nicolas Mahut |- |Most games in a single day (118)||Nicolas Mahut |}

Career finals

Singles: 8 (3–5)

{| |valign=top| {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Legend (pre/post 2009) |-bgcolor=#e5d1cb |Grand Slam (0–0) |-bgcolor=#ffffcc |Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) |-bgcolor=#dfe2e9 |ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) |-bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 series (0–1) |- |ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 series (3–4) |} |valign=top| {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Titles by Surface |- |Hard (2–4) |- |Clay (0–1) |- |Grass (1–0) |- |Carpet (0–0) |} |valign=top| {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Titles by Surface |- |Outdoors (3–4) |- |Indoors (0–1) |} |} {|class="sortable wikitable" style=font-size:97% !width=80|Outcome !width=30|No. !width=145|Date !width=280|Tournament !width=75|Surface !width=200|Opponent in the final !width=200|Score in the final |- |bgcolor=#FFA07A|Runner-up |1. |5 August 2007 | Washington, D.C., United States |Hard | Andy Roddick |6–4, 7–6(7–4) |- |bgcolor=#98FB98|Winner |1. |16 January 2010 | Auckland, New Zealand |Hard | Arnaud Clément |6–3, 5–7, 7–6(7–2) |-bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |bgcolor=#FFA07A|Runner-up |2. |21 February 2010 | Memphis, U.S. |Hard (i) | Sam Querrey |6–7^(3–7), 7–6^(7–5), 6–3 |- |bgcolor=#FFA07A|Runner-up |3. |9 May 2010 | Belgrade, Serbia |Clay | Sam Querrey |3–6, 7–6^(7–4), 6–4 |- |bgcolor=#FFA07A|Runner-up |4. |25 July 2010 | Atlanta, U.S. |Hard | Mardy Fish |4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–4) |- |bgcolor=#98FB98|Winner |2. |10 July 2011 | Newport, U.S. |Grass | Olivier Rochus |6–3, 7–6(8–6) |- |bgcolor=#FFA07A|Runner-up |5. |24 July 2011 | Atlanta, U.S. (2) |Hard | Mardy Fish |3–6, 7–6^(8–6), 6–2 |- |bgcolor=#98FB98|Winner |3. |27 August 2011 | Winston-Salem, U.S. |Hard | Julien Benneteau |4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |}

Doubles: 3 (3–2)

{| |valign=top| {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Legend (pre/post 2009) |-bgcolor=#e5d1cb |Grand Slam (0–0) |-bgcolor=#ffffcc |Tennis Masters Cup /ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) |-bgcolor=#dfe2e9 |ATP Masters Series /ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (1–1) |-bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |ATP International Series Gold /ATP World Tour 500 series (1–0) |- |ATP International Series /ATP World Tour 250 series (1–1) |} |valign=top| {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Titles by Surface |- |Hard (1–0) |- |Clay (1–2) |- |Grass (1–0) |- |Carpet (0–0) |} |valign=top| {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !Titles by Surface |- |Outdoors (3–2) |- |Indoors (0–0) |} |} ;Wins (3) / Runner-ups (1) {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% !width=70|Outcome !width=20|No. !width=120|Date !width=180|Tournament !width=60|Surface !width=140|Partner !width=180|Opponents in the final !width=140|Score |- |bgcolor=#98FB98|Winner |1. |July 7, 2008 |Newport, United States |Grass | Mardy Fish | Rohan Bopanna Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi |6–4, 7–6(7–1) |-bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |bgcolor=#98FB98|Winner |2. |February 21, 2010 |Memphis, U.S. |Hard | Sam Querrey | Ross Hutchins Jordan Kerr |6–4, 6–4 |-bgcolor=#dfe2e9 |bgcolor=#ffa07a|Runner-up |1. |May 2, 2010 |Rome, Italy |Clay | Sam Querrey | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |2–6, 3–6 |- |bgcolor=#ffa07a|Runner-up |2. |April 9, 2011 |Houston, United States |Clay | Sam Querrey | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |7–6^(7–4), 2–6, [5–10] |-bgcolor=#dfe2e9 |bgcolor=#98FB98|Winner |3. |May 15, 2011 |Rome, Italy |Clay | Sam Querrey | Mardy Fish Andy Roddick |W/O |}

Mixed Doubles

In January 2011, Isner teamed with Bethanie Mattek-Sands for the USA, and they reached the (mixed doubles) Hopman Cup Final – Belgium V USA that they won 6–1 6–3 (Belgium: Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans)

Singles performance timeline

''To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through March 30, 2011. {|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:98% !Tournament!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!width=35|SR!!width=35|W–L |- |colspan=8 align=left|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Australian Open |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 4 |bgcolor=#efefef|5–4 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|French Open |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 3 |bgcolor=#efefef|2–3 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Wimbledon |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 3 |bgcolor=#efefef|2–3 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|US Open |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R | |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 4 |bgcolor=#efefef|7–4 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !2–1 !0–4 !3–2 !8–4 !3–3 !0 / 14 !16–14 |- |colspan=8 align=left|'''Year-End Championship |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|ATP World Tour Finals |A |A |A |A | !0 / 0 !0–0 |- |colspan=8 align=left|'''Olympic Games |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Summer Olympics |style=color:#ccc|NH |A |colspan=3 style=color:#ccc|Not Held !0 / 0 !0–0 |- |colspan=8 align=left|'''ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Indian Wells Masters |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 4 |bgcolor=#efefef|7–4 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Miami Masters |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 4 |bgcolor=#efefef|4–4 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Monte Carlo Masters |A |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 0 |bgcolor=#efefef|0–0 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Rome Masters |A |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 2 |bgcolor=#efefef|1–2 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Madrid Masters |A |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 2 |bgcolor=#efefef|3–2 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Canada Masters |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 2 |bgcolor=#efefef|2–2 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Cincinnati Masters |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 5 |bgcolor=#efefef|3–5 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Shanghai Masters |colspan=2 style=color:#ccc|NMS |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R | |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 2 |bgcolor=#efefef|1–2 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Paris Masters |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R | |bgcolor=#efefef|0 / 2 |bgcolor=#efefef|1–2 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–1 !2–3 !7–6 !8–7 !5–6 !0 / 23 !22–23 |- |colspan=8 align=left|'''Career Statistics |- !style=text-align:left|Titles–Finals !0–1 !0–0 !0–0 !1–4 !2–3 ! !3–8 |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Year End Ranking |106 |144 |34 |19 | !colspan=2| |}

Head-to-head record against other players

Isner's win-loss record against certain players who have been ranked World No. 10 or higher is as follows:

''Players who have been ranked World No. 1 are in boldface.''

Marcos Baghdatis 3–0

Tommy Haas 3–1

Arnaud Clément 2–0

Tommy Robredo 1–0

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 1–0

Gaël Monfils 3–3

Richard Gasquet 1–1

Stanislas Wawrinka 1–1

Fernando González 1–1

Marat Safin 1–1

Andy Roddick 2–3

Nikolay Davydenko 1–2

Tomáš Berdych 1–2

Juan Carlos Ferrero 0–1

Andy Murray 0–1

Fernando Verdasco 0–1

David Nalbandian 0–2

Novak Djokovic 0–2

Roger Federer 0–2

Lleyton Hewitt 0–2

Mikhail Youzhny 0–2

Juan Martín del Potro 0–3

Rafael Nadal 0–3

David Ferrer 0–3

: *As of 2011-08-26.

References

External links

John Isner tennis gear

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:American male tennis players Category:American Presbyterians Category:Georgia Bulldogs tennis players Category:People from Greensboro, North Carolina Category:People from Tampa, Florida Category:Tennis people from Florida Category:Tennis people from North Carolina

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