Isner gives all in final match
NEW YORK — John Isner’s career fittingly ended with a final-set tiebreaker.
Isner put a volley into the net to end the match and what he had announced would be his final singles tournament, falling in the U.S. Open second round to fellow American Michael Mmoh 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (7).
“It’s tough. I like to think I work as hard as I can,” Isner told a Grandstand crowd that erupted in cheers as he trailed off into tears.
The 38-year-old Isner, who needed a wild card to get into the draw at Flushing Meadows, blasted 48 aces and won 86% of his first-serve points in a match that also included 63 unforced errors. Several times, the 6-foot-10 Isner fell to the ground while diving to make volleys.
Isner reached a careerbest ranking of No. 8 in 2018, shortly after reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon. He won 16 singles titles and hit 14,470 aces, an ATP Tour record. That includes 113 in the longest match in tennis history, a first-round Wimbledon win against Nicolas Mahut in 2010 that lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes and ended at 70-68 in the fifth set.
Next up for the 89th-ranked Mmoh will be 21-year-old Brit Jack Draper, who upset an ailing No. 17 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-2, 6-4, 7-5, extending his return to the tour after being out more than two months with a shoulder injury.
On the women’s side, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus had little trouble with Jodie Burrage of Britain in a 6-2, 6-3 victory in a little more than an hour. Sabalenka advances to a third-round matchup against Clara Burel of France, who beat No. 25 Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-2.
Ninth-seeded Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic downed Martina Trevisan of Italy 6-2, 6-2; American Madison Keys, the No. 17 seed, advanced with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium; and No. 26 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Elsewhere, sixth-seeded Jannik Sinner advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory over fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
Sinner has never lost to an Italian, improving to 10-0 against his countrymen. He’s seeking at deep run at Flushing Meadows after reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon this year and the quarterfinals at last year’s U.S. Open, losing to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set marathon.
“I felt now my game has improved a little bit and developed,” said the 22-year-old Sinner, who won 89% of his first-serve points and was successful in 22 of 25 trips to the net. “Physically, I’m good.”
Alexander Zverev, the No. 12 seed, downed fellow German Daniel Altmaier 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 on his return to outer Court 17.
For Zverev, a U.S. Open finalist in 2020, it marked his fifth straight advance to the tournament’s third round. He next faces No. 19 seed Grigor Dimitrov, who downed Andy Murray, 36, in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium that included 45 unforced errors from the British three-time Grand Slam champion.