Clijsters, Henin to clash, Isner exits
Source: Agencies |
June 26, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
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ONE day after winning the longest match ever, John Isner lost in about 75 minutes at Wimbledon yesterday.
The marathon man looked weary from the outset, required treatment for a neck injury and was beaten by unseeded Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-3, 6-2. Isner had no aces after hitting a record 112 in his epic three-day victory over Nicolas Mahut.
"The turnaround time -- he just didn't have enough time to get his body right," said Isner's coach, Craig Boynton. "He's one tired boy."
Starting shortly after noon in warm sunshine, Isner received a standing ovation when he walked onto court. He immediately lost his serve -- something that didn't happen once in his 70-68 fifth set against Mahut.
Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, two Belgians making Wimbledon comebacks, beat Russians to set up a fourth-round showdown on Monday. Clijsters, seeded eighth, beat Russian No. 27 Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-3 while Henin, seeded 17th, defeated No. 12 Nadia Petrova, also of Russia, 6-1, 6-4.
No. 4 Jelena Jankovic beat No. 28 Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-0, 6-3. No. 11 Marion Bartoli, the 2007 runner-up, defeated Greta Arn of Hungary 6-3, 6-4.
Jankovic had no problem turning up the heat on Bondarenko who succumbed to her 11th defeat in 12 meetings with the Serb. The fourth seed, who turned up on her day off at Wimbledon for a royal appointment with Queen Elizabeth on Thursday, will be hoping to produce another regal performance when she faces either Vera Zvonareva or Yanina Wickmayer.
Toe injury
Isner didn't warm up before taking the court and showed up unshaven. He dropped the first set in 16 minutes, winning only nine points while committing 11 unforced errors. After the set, he took an injury timeout and received a neck massage from a trainer.
After the loss, Isner pulled out of doubles before his first-round match with fellow American Sam Querrey, citing a toe injury.
The crowd roared when Isner finally won a game after 32 minutes to trail 2-1 in the second set. His shots began to show more zip, but his movement remained sluggish. Several times he didn't even pursue shots, and when he buried a forehand in the net in the third set, he bent over with his hands on his knees.
"I was low on fuel out there and didn't really have a chance," said Isner. "It wasn't like I was dying out there, I was just tired. Sometimes the adrenaline can take over but that wasn't the case today. I've never been this exhausted before but it still stinks to lose in the second round."
Serbia's Novak Djokovic showed the full array of strokemaking needed to go deep into Wimbledon's second week against Albert Montanes yesterday, crushing the Spaniard 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round.
Djokovic, whose one semifinal here is a poor return on his fine all-round game, never took his foot off the throttle against the 28th seed, racing through the opener in just 26 minutes with some neat drops and athletic volleys.
Another blockbusting serve, he struck 11 aces, settled it in Djokovic's favour after an hour and 41 minutes when Montanes spooned his backhand return wide.
The third seed now plays the winner of the match between France's Gael Monfils and 2002 champion from Australia Lleyton Hewitt.
The marathon man looked weary from the outset, required treatment for a neck injury and was beaten by unseeded Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-3, 6-2. Isner had no aces after hitting a record 112 in his epic three-day victory over Nicolas Mahut.
"The turnaround time -- he just didn't have enough time to get his body right," said Isner's coach, Craig Boynton. "He's one tired boy."
Starting shortly after noon in warm sunshine, Isner received a standing ovation when he walked onto court. He immediately lost his serve -- something that didn't happen once in his 70-68 fifth set against Mahut.
Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, two Belgians making Wimbledon comebacks, beat Russians to set up a fourth-round showdown on Monday. Clijsters, seeded eighth, beat Russian No. 27 Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-3 while Henin, seeded 17th, defeated No. 12 Nadia Petrova, also of Russia, 6-1, 6-4.
No. 4 Jelena Jankovic beat No. 28 Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-0, 6-3. No. 11 Marion Bartoli, the 2007 runner-up, defeated Greta Arn of Hungary 6-3, 6-4.
Jankovic had no problem turning up the heat on Bondarenko who succumbed to her 11th defeat in 12 meetings with the Serb. The fourth seed, who turned up on her day off at Wimbledon for a royal appointment with Queen Elizabeth on Thursday, will be hoping to produce another regal performance when she faces either Vera Zvonareva or Yanina Wickmayer.
Toe injury
Isner didn't warm up before taking the court and showed up unshaven. He dropped the first set in 16 minutes, winning only nine points while committing 11 unforced errors. After the set, he took an injury timeout and received a neck massage from a trainer.
After the loss, Isner pulled out of doubles before his first-round match with fellow American Sam Querrey, citing a toe injury.
The crowd roared when Isner finally won a game after 32 minutes to trail 2-1 in the second set. His shots began to show more zip, but his movement remained sluggish. Several times he didn't even pursue shots, and when he buried a forehand in the net in the third set, he bent over with his hands on his knees.
"I was low on fuel out there and didn't really have a chance," said Isner. "It wasn't like I was dying out there, I was just tired. Sometimes the adrenaline can take over but that wasn't the case today. I've never been this exhausted before but it still stinks to lose in the second round."
Serbia's Novak Djokovic showed the full array of strokemaking needed to go deep into Wimbledon's second week against Albert Montanes yesterday, crushing the Spaniard 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round.
Djokovic, whose one semifinal here is a poor return on his fine all-round game, never took his foot off the throttle against the 28th seed, racing through the opener in just 26 minutes with some neat drops and athletic volleys.
Another blockbusting serve, he struck 11 aces, settled it in Djokovic's favour after an hour and 41 minutes when Montanes spooned his backhand return wide.
The third seed now plays the winner of the match between France's Gael Monfils and 2002 champion from Australia Lleyton Hewitt.
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