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After a whirlwind pro tennis debut in 2007, John Isner has started 2008 slowly -- and painfully.

Six weeks into the year, Isner has only one ATP match -- a loss in straight sets -- on his resume. That equals the number of injuries he has had. Isner, from Greensboro, was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot in mid-January.

He's ready to return next week at the SAP Open in San Jose, Calif. Isner is fully recovered from the stress fracture, and there don't appear to be any mental scars from the first dip in an otherwise rising career trajectory.

"I actually feel like I'm in better shape now," Isner said by phone this week.

The Page High alumnus came into this season having driven his ranking all the way from No. 839 in June to the cusp of the top 100 in the world by the end of December. It was good enough to get Isner automatic entry into the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open.

Isner played well in a tuneup tournament before Melbourne, failing to reach the main draw but notching an impressive victory over Arnaud Clement, the No. 67 player in the world, in qualifying.

Everything was looking good, except Isner had started noticing a bit of soreness in his left foot. It wasn't bothering him during matches, so he brushed it off. But he couldn't brush off his first-round opponent in the Australian Open, ATP tour veteran Fabrice Santoro.

"Outside of drawing one of the top guys, that's one of the worst draws I could have had," Isner said of the unorthodox Santoro. "He's not a good matchup."

It showed. Isner was beaten 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.

"I didn't think through anything," he said. "I was kind of a bonehead out there."

A bone in one of Isner's feet, specifically the third metatarsal in his left foot, gave him trouble next. When Isner landed in Hawaii for a Challenger tournament after his flight from Australia, he noticed his foot was badly swollen. Given that he's a 6-foot-9 man who had been sitting in coach during the flight -- at least he got an exit row seat -- he figured it was a circulation issue that would resolve itself.

It didn't. Isner pulled out of the Hawaii tournament, returned to the mainland and had an MRI. He was diagnosed with a stress fracture, but with a bit of a twist.

"I'd had one when I was 14," Isner said. "I was thinking I was going to be out for two months."

Instead, the doctor told Isner the stress fracture was five or six weeks old. Because the injury is a self-healing one that takes about eight weeks to mend, Isner was prescribed two weeks of rest and recovery.

He followed doctor's orders, worked out with weights and an exercise bike to stay fit, sneaked in a two-day trip to Las Vegas ("Not to blow it out," Isner assured) and spent five days working out in the gym back at the University of Georgia, his alma mater.

When he got back on the court, he was re-energized and feeling no pain.

And thanks to the quirks of the ranking system, he had risen to No. 101 in the world without playing a match. He is currently No. 103.

Now Isner is ready to break into double digits in the rankings. He'll start with the San Jose tournament. Then comes a tournament in Memphis, Tenn., that Isner hopes his parents can attend. That's followed by Las Vegas and, if all goes well, Masters events in Indian Wells, Calif., and Miami. After a two-week break, it's on to the U.S. Clay Court Championships in Houston.

From there, Isner might be headed to test the European clay and perhaps give the French Open a try.

First things first, though. He's back to full health. Now it's time to get back to winning matches.

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jim.young@news-record.com