Isner beats Mahut - with nine hours to spare
Date published :
21 Jun 2011 - 21:00:01
John Isner ensured there would be no repeat of his historic Wimbledon marathon against France's Nicolas Mahut as the American won their first round rematch 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) on Tuesday.
Isner and Mahut had played the longest match in tennis history -- lasting 11 hours and five minutes and spread over three days -- when they met at the same stage at Wimbledon 12 months ago.
But American Isner, who won that record-breaking epic 70-68 in the fifth set, enjoyed a much less draining victory this time as he saw off Mahut on Court Three in just over two hours.
"It wasn't easy, but obviously it was a lot quicker than last year," said Isner.
"I definitely wanted to finish it here because otherwise everybody would be talking about a second day.
"I'm glad they put us on this court (Court 3) because maybe they didn't want to tarnish the memory of last year. It's a huge relief and I'm happy to put this one behind me."
