As the sun rose recently, Justin Gimelstob was relaxing the only way he knows how, by sifting through more than 300 combined unread email and text messages on his smartphone while burning 857 calories riding a stationary bicycle for an hour.
If there was a multitasking hall of fame, Gimelstob would be a first-ballot inductee. His responsibilities at the Australian Open include coaching John Isner, managing the corporate appearance schedule of the retired three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport, conducting business related to the ATP Tour in his capacity as a member of the board of directors, commentating for Tennis Channel and serving as the executive producer of the tour’s magazine show.
“He’s busy,” said Marcel Granollers, who lost to Isner in the second round.
Gimelstob, 38, is a lightning rod for anybody railing against the conflicts of interest that are rife in tennis. How can he straddle the players’ box and the broadcast booth or fight for all players as a board member when he is a paid member of one player’s entourage?
“Some players might have a problem,” Steve Johnson, an American seeded 31st here, said, adding: “I think it’s a little different that he’s also coaching a player that we’re playing against. In my mind, he’s doing more good on the council for us than he is doing harm — not harm, but trying his best to beat me as a competitor.”
Gimelstob’s juggling act guarantees his daily calendar is stacked with appointments.
“He’s got a lot going on, but that’s Justin,” Isner said. “He has to have a lot going on to keep himself sane.”
Wearing pressed suit pants, a dress shirt and oxford shoes, Gimelstob stood on the court Thursday morning and alternately returned ATP-related email correspondence and delivered instructions to Isner.
Between the end of the practice session and the start of Isner’s second-round match at 11 a.m., there was a two-hour lull, which Gimelstob had no trouble filling. He conducted interviews on an outside court with the legendary Australian players Fred Stolle and Ken Rosewall and consumed a quick breakfast that consisted of a raspberry muffin and two small containers of yogurt, which he washed down with a large extra-strong latte.
“I never drank coffee till I retired,” said Gimelstob, who played as an ATP pro from 1996 to 2007 and won 13 ATP doubles titles. “Now it’s one of my food groups.”
After Isner finished off Granollers in straight sets, Gimelstob’s broadcasting duties began. He made his way from Hisense Arena, where Isner had played, to Tennis Channel’s booth at Rod Laver Arena for Andy Murray’s second-round match against Sam Groth of Australia.
For the rest of the afternoon, Gimelstob’s attention was divided between Murray’s rout of Groth and Madison Keys’ three-set victory over Yaroslava Shvedova, playing on a feed in front of him. Several times he bounced up and down in his chair, discharging his pent-up energy like his 2-year-old son on a rocking horse in a video he has stored on his smartphone.
On the table next to the television monitor, Gimelstob’s two phones were charging. He had booted up his laptop, and whenever he got a chance, he worked on a long email intended for his wife, Cary. Married for nearly four years, the couple are in the process of divorcing.
“It is heartbreaking,” said Gimelstob, who bypassed the Auckland Open, where he previously has begun his year, because he would have been apart from his son for almost a month.
“As much as I love my work,” he said, “I don’t love it more than my family.”
After the broadcast, Gimelstob had a short break before a scheduled ATP meeting. He lingered in the booth to watch the feed of the match between Feliciano López and Guido Pella, the winner of which would play Isner in the third round.
Deep into the fifth set, the monitor went dark. A production engineer was putting the electronic equipment to bed for the night.
“I need this on!” Gimelstob cried, jumping out of his seat.
Seconds later, the picture reappeared. Lopez dispatched Pella to set up a meeting against Isner on Saturday.
Gimelstob, who cannot sit still, and Isner, who can sit happily all day on his couch watching televised sports, come across as the odd couple of tennis. In truth, they are more alike than it appears.
“We’re both OCD,” Gimelstob said. “I’m more OCD about his footwork on his backhand and his volleying technique. And he’s more obsessed with his coffee cups and his countertops.”
With a shudder, Isner described the Los Angeles-based Gimelstob’s training visits to Isner’s home in Tampa, Florida. Gimelstob leaves cartons of ice cream on the counter, Isner said, and swigs of coffee in mugs that he neglects to rinse out.
“I’m extremely, extremely domestic,” Isner said, adding, “He’s a hurricane. It just drives me crazy.”
Gimelstob had never coached an ATP player, and his learning curve was steep.
“I started out giving John way too much information because that’s how I liked it when I played,” said Gimelstob, whose father and uncle were basketball coaches. “That’s all I knew.”
He should have gleaned from Isner’s only mobile device, a BlackBerry, that he does not need to have reams of data at his fingertips.
“I had to learn how to best help him,” Gimelstob said, “which is to give him the most important parts of what he needs to know and then give him more space.”
In the 15 months they have been working together, Isner, 30, has become more comfortable moving forward. His comfort zone is expanding, and not just on the court. Gimelstob has prodded Isner, a homebody at heart, to play more events outside the United States.
“I do like being home sitting on the couch watching football,” said Isner, an avid Carolina Panthers fan. “When I’m watching football at three in the morning in Europe, that’s probably not the most productive thing that I can do, but I can’t help it.”
He added, “I do need to expand my comfort zone a bit, and last year I proved that. I played better overseas.”
Under Gimelstob’s tutelage, Isner has climbed to 11th from 19th in the rankings. He takes immense pride in having finished each of the past six seasons in the top 20.
“If I didn’t pick up a racket again for the rest of my life, I’d be proud of what I’ve done,” Isner said.
That is another way they are different, said Gimelstob, whose long days are a testament to his tireless quest for growth and self-improvement. Sure, he could work one job, but his current schedule affords him five times the fun.
“I love what I do, all of it,” he said, adding, “I’m up at 4 a.m. on my computer itching to get the day started.”
Roughly 12 hours after climbing off the stationary bike, Gimelstob checked his messages. Despite making a concerted effort throughout the day to keep up with his correspondence, his unread emails and text messages had grown to nearly 400.
Gimelstob laughed. On technology’s superhighway, he is not pedaling in place; he is losing ground.
No worries, he said. After a few hours’ sleep — a long nap, really — he would resume his striving.
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