John Isner drops ultimate praise on Serena Williams' greatness

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• Serena Williams

American tennis star John Isner thinks Serena Williams belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Sports. Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, is set to retire from professional tennis after this year's US Open. Williams is widely considered as one of the greatest players not just in tennis history, but in all sports history.

Isner believes Williams is in the league of Michael Jordan, Roger Federer and Wayne Gretzky. "I think tennis is going to miss Serena's presence sorely. But the good thing about Serena I think is she will always be around. She's an incredible athlete and will be every bit as popular when she's done with tennis as she ever was when she was playing," Isner said on Tennis Channel.

"She's sort of in that rarefied air like a Michael Jordan or like a Wayne Gretzky and Roger Federer where she's just sort of transcends the sport a bit. She will be missed. Fans, colleagues and everyone alike will miss watching her compete."

Isner, Williams learn their US Open first round opponents

On Thursday, the US Open released the men's and women's draws.

In the first round, Isner takes on a qualifier. Meanwhile, Williams drew Danka Kovinic. Kovinic hasn't played well over the last few months as she has lost her last five matches. Pam Shriver, an ex-American tennis star, feels Kovinic is a good first round matchup for Williams.

"Serena Williams first round opponent Kovinic has won 4 games in her last 4 sets played. Kovinic much better on clay, where at Roland Garros pushed Iga in 3rd round loss. Serena has won more matches since Wimbledon than Kovinic.

This is as good a first round as Serena could get," Shriver tweeted. Williams is just 1-3 since kicking off her season at Wimbledon. It remains to be seen how far can Williams go in her final US Open campaign.