Giant Isner stuns Roddick at US Open

Andy Roddick's hopes of a second US Open crown, six years after his first, were blown apart by giant compatriot John Isner on Saturday in the first major upset of the men's tournament.

The six-foot-nine-inch (2.03m) product of the US collegiate system stunned the fifth seed and top US hope 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5) in a 3 hours 51 minutes, third-round clash between two of the biggest servers in tennis.

There were scares also for top seed and defending champion Roger Federer and fourth seed Novak Djokovic.

Both dropped their opening sets but both bounced back to win in four.

While defending champion and top seed Federer made it 14 in a row over former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 win, fourth-seeded Djokovic struggled to see off the challenge of US wildcard Jesse Witten 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.

The Isner-Roddick clash turned on two tie-breaks - one in the first and one in the fifth.

Both were won by 24-year-old Isner, who is back to full fitness after missing three months of the year with mononucleosis.

"Maybe I was a little bit fortunate to win tonight, but I played well and I think I deserved it," he said. "It hinged on a few points here and there.

"He brought it back and took it to the fifth set and from there it was anybody's game.

"I told myself, just hold serve, and if I could get to the tie-breaker I was confident. "I can really do some damage here. I'm not finished yet."

With US No.2 Sam Querrey also going out in a 6-2, 7-5, 6-7 (6/8), 6-1 loss to French Open runner-up Robin Soderling of Sweden, Isner and James Blake, who was playing in the night session, represent the best chance of a first home win since Roddick in 2003.

It was a crushing blow for Roddick, who lost a marathon five-setter to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final in July.

"It was a tough one to lose especially after coming back all that way," he said.

"Bottom line for the entire match is he played great in the breakers. I dont know if I missed a ball in one of the breakers. He played well when he had to.

Federer, seeking a sixth straight US title to match the 84-year-old record of Bill Tilden, was uncustomarily out first under a hot midday sun at the Arthur Ashe Stadium court and he was uncustomarily sluggish and careless.

NEW YORK, Sunday, AFP