January 3, 2011 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
American John Isner has beaten Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 7-6 (5) at the Hopman Cup in their first rematch since their 11-hour epic at Wimbledon last year. Isner beat Mahut in 90 min. on Monday to give the U.S. an insurmountable 2-0 lead over France. This match lasted 9½ hours and 161 games less than their previous record-breaking encounter.
The Wimbledon match stretched over three days and finished at 70-68 in the fifth set.
Isner’s victory Monday came after Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated former top-ranked junior Kristina Mladenovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead in the team event.
The U.S. and France are in Group B along with Britain and Italy. In the day’s other matchup, Italy beat Britain 2-1.
The Hopman Cup is an annual international team tennis tournament held in Perth, Western Australia in early January each year, which plays mixed teams on a country by country basis. It is also known as the ITF Mixed Team Championships.
