Andy Roddick's Lose: The Student Becomes the Master

Andy Roddick's U.S. Open rally has been squashed by his former student.
Coming off a close-as-could-be loss in the Wimbledon final, Mr. Roddick came to Flushing Meadows with a rebuilt game and some serious self-belief. Running into strong-serving, 6-foot-9 American John Isner in the third round proved to be too much to handle.



The 55th-ranked Mr. Isner smacked 38 aces to beat the No. 5-seeded Mr. Roddick 7-6 (3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (5) Saturday.

It's the first time Mr. Isner has reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament. Mr. Roddick, in contrast, won the 2003 U.S. Open and has been the runner-up at a major four times, most recently at the All England Club in July.

"It's tough. I mean, I don't know if I've come to a tournament with as much confidence, into a Slam, as I did with this tournament," Mr. Roddick said. "Leaving earlier than I want to."

His loss marked the first significant upset of Week 1 of the men's tournament: The men seeded No. 1 through No. 16 were 38-0 before Mr. Roddick and Mr. Isner stepped on court.
Mr. Roddick broke Mr. Isner's serve twice and was only broken once himself. His groundstrokes were clean, with only 20 unforced errors, 32 fewer than Mr. Isner. And then there was this little detail: Mr. Roddick won 162 points, Mr. Isner 155.



But Mr. Isner came through in the tiebreakers.

"I mean, there's a lot that's out of your hands with the way he plays. I said it before: You can't really teach 6-9, especially coming down on a serve," Mr. Roddick said. "You try to fight it off as much as you can. Sometimes you can, and sometimes it's completely out of your hands."

How does Mr. Isner do so well in such pressure-packed situations?
"I'm real poised and real under control," Mr. Isner said. "I don't panic."

Mr. Isner, who led Georgia to the 2007 NCAA team tennis championship, lost in the first round at five consecutive major tournaments until this one. He missed three months this season from mid-April to mid-July with mononucleosis, but Saturday's victory will push him into the top 50 in the rankings.

"I was watching the French Open. I remember how ticked off I was at home," Mr. Isner said. "But I think it might have been a blessing in disguise."

Labels: Andy Roddick, Flushing Meadows, John Isner, Tennis, U.S. Open, US Open

Andy Roddick's Lose: The Student Becomes the Master

Andy Roddick's U.S. Open rally has been squashed by his former student.
Coming off a close-as-could-be loss in the Wimbledon final, Mr. Roddick came to Flushing Meadows with a rebuilt game and some serious self-belief. Running into strong-serving, 6-foot-9 American John Isner in the third round proved to be too much to handle.



The 55th-ranked Mr. Isner smacked 38 aces to beat the No. 5-seeded Mr. Roddick 7-6 (3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (5) Saturday.

It's the first time Mr. Isner has reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament. Mr. Roddick, in contrast, won the 2003 U.S. Open and has been the runner-up at a major four times, most recently at the All England Club in July.

"It's tough. I mean, I don't know if I've come to a tournament with as much confidence, into a Slam, as I did with this tournament," Mr. Roddick said. "Leaving earlier than I want to."

His loss marked the first significant upset of Week 1 of the men's tournament: The men seeded No. 1 through No. 16 were 38-0 before Mr. Roddick and Mr. Isner stepped on court.
Mr. Roddick broke Mr. Isner's serve twice and was only broken once himself. His groundstrokes were clean, with only 20 unforced errors, 32 fewer than Mr. Isner. And then there was this little detail: Mr. Roddick won 162 points, Mr. Isner 155.



But Mr. Isner came through in the tiebreakers.

"I mean, there's a lot that's out of your hands with the way he plays. I said it before: You can't really teach 6-9, especially coming down on a serve," Mr. Roddick said. "You try to fight it off as much as you can. Sometimes you can, and sometimes it's completely out of your hands."

How does Mr. Isner do so well in such pressure-packed situations?
"I'm real poised and real under control," Mr. Isner said. "I don't panic."

Mr. Isner, who led Georgia to the 2007 NCAA team tennis championship, lost in the first round at five consecutive major tournaments until this one. He missed three months this season from mid-April to mid-July with mononucleosis, but Saturday's victory will push him into the top 50 in the rankings.

"I was watching the French Open. I remember how ticked off I was at home," Mr. Isner said. "But I think it might have been a blessing in disguise."

Labels: Andy Roddick, Flushing Meadows, John Isner, Tennis, U.S. Open, US Open