Both Isner and Berdych Bounced From Opening Round at Wimbledon
June 25, 2012 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
There will be no re-match of the epic 11 hour, five minute five-setter between American John Isner and France’s Nicolas Mahut at this year’s Wimbledon as Isner, the 11th seed, fell to Alejandro Falla of Colombia, 6-4, 6-7(7), 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-5 in the first round.
In 2010, Isner won the longest match in tennis history at Wimbledon against Mahut, an11 hour and five minute affair which ended 70-68 in the fifth set. Today at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Isner hit 31 aces against Falla. Falla broke Isner, giving him the victory. Falla won 27 of 34 net points throughout the match. Falla awaits the winner of the match between Mahut and Paolo Lorenzi of Italy.
Another big round one upset today saw world number 87th-ranked Ernests Gulbis of Latvia defeat the number six seed, Tomas Berdych of the Czech, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 7-6(4). Gulbis had not won a Grand Slam match in nearly a year since the 2011 U.S. Open and his previous best at Wimbledon was to reach the second round in 2008 and 2009. The win by Gulbis ended an eight-year streak by Berdych of second round appearances at Wimbledon. At Wimbledon 2010, Berdych defeated Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, but lost to Rafael Nadal in the finals.
