Share

Isner beaten - in 74 minutes

London - Tennis record-smasher John Isner finally hit the wall on Friday when he was knocked out of Wimbledon in his delayed second round match.

Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker went through to the third round as he coasted to a 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the jaded American.

The American 23rd seed had played for 11 hours and five minutes, and 183 games, in his epic record-breaking first round clash with France's Nicolas Mahut, spread over three days from Tuesday to Thursday.

The Wimbledon authorities hardly did Isner any favours by asking him to play first on Court Five and his performance was predictably lacklustre.

The American number two, whose serve was virtually impregnable against Mahut, lost his first service game of the match - the first time he had dropped it since the second set of his 183-game endurance test against Mahut - and was whitewashed in the first set.

The world number 19 needed treatment on his neck between sets but finally held onto his serve in the first game of the second set before De Bakker reasserted control.

The third set was a similar procession and the Dutch number one wrapped it up in an hour and 14 minutes.

De Bakker, the world number 43, is no stranger to long matches himself, having come through his first round game against Santiago Giraldo, of Columbia, by winning the final set 16-14.

He now faces either Russian 13th seed Mikhail Youzhny or Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1818 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1778 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1084 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 461 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE