Marathon man John Isner out of Wimbledon
After writing his name into the record books as the winner of the longest tennis match in history, it was a surprise John Isner could even drag himself back onto court for his second round match against Thiemo De Bakker.
Then again, after surviving the 11 hour and 183 game marathon against Nicolas Mahut over the past three days, perhaps there was never any doubt the big-serving American is possessed of the inner fortitude to battle on for another match.
There was never any real doubt, however, that Isner’s 70-68 victory in the fifth set against Mahut would come at the cost of any chance of progressing beyond the second round and so it proved.
It took nine games for Isner to finally win his first game of today’s match against De Bakker, and after winding up for 112 aces in his first round match the 23rd seed couldn’t muster even one of them in three sets against the Dutchman.
Where Isner’s serve proved to be an almost impenetrable barrier for Mahut, De Bakker was able to break it six times in today’s match and generated almost twice as many chances to do so.
The physical efforts of what had gone before were clearly taking their toll on Isner, as he sought solace in the hands of the physio during the match which, compared to what had gone before, was over in almost the blink of an eye, with De Bakker defeating the weary warrior 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 in just an hour and 14 minutes.
It will surely be a victory De Bakker will accept but not savour as he moves through to the third round at a Grand Slam for just the second time in his career.
And while Isner is now gone from the men’s singles draw at Wimbledon 2010, he, and the vanquished Mahut, have left an indelible mark on the tournament that stands to be remembered as much, if not more, this year for their match than for anything that may follow in its remaining days.
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