Isner Ousted in Houston
Germany’s Dustin Brown secured scored the upset of the Fayez Sarofim & Company U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship so far, ousting the top-seeded defending champ John Isner of the U.S. on Wednesday in Houston, 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-6(4). Brown, currently ranked 101st in the world, needed nearly two-and-a-half hours to defeat the ninth-ranked Isner, who defeated Nicholas Almagro for the Houston title last year.
Brown will next face another American in the quarterfinals, Sam Querrey, a 6-3, 6-4 winner Wednesday over the seventh-seeded Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt, who won the Houston title in 2009, lost just his second match to Querrey in five career meetings. This marks just the second time in six trips to Houston that Querrey has reached the quarterfinals. He also did so in 2010 when he reached the finals, falling to Juan Ignacio Chela.
Also advancing Wednesday was Juan Monaco, the six seed, a 7-6(4), 6-2 winner over Somdev Devvarman. With the win, Monaco recorded his 200th career victory on clay. Monaco joins active players Rafael Nadal (289), David Ferrer (267), Tommy Robredo (235), and Nicolas Almagro (234) to reach the 200-win milestone on clay. Monaco next faces American Donald Young with a trip to the quarterfinals at stake.
