Serving up 34 aces, John Isner defeated Jarkko Nieminen in the first round of the US Open. Isner never lost his serve, and only needed to break Nieminen one time to secure the victory. After losing the first set in a tiebreaker, Isner kept it together to win three sets in a row. The final scoreboard read 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Image from Yahoo!
At times, Isner looked absolutely brilliant. Serving and volleying. Blasting forehand winners past his opponent. At other times, he looked somewhat pedestrian. Drop volleys coming up short of the net. Spraying forehands well out of the court. But Isner stuck to his strength and used his monster serve to take the match.
Not surprisingly, the US Open crowd really gravitated to the young American Isner. In the third and fourth, the crowd roared at each game won. An enormous roar came over the crowd when Isner finally broke Nieminen's serve in the fourth and decisive set (this was the only break of serve the entire match).
Up next for Isner is a well deserved day of rest. On Wednesday he will take on qualifier Rik De Voest of South Africa.
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