Staff Reporter.
(AFP) – John Isner set a new record for the number of aces on the ATP Tour at Wimbledon on Friday but it was not enough to overcome Italy’s Jannik Sinner.
The giant American walloped 24 aces but was broken twice in the match and went down 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in two hours and 20 minutes.
Isner started his match against the 10th seed four aces behind Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic, who has served 13 728.
The 37-year-old, who dumped Andy Murray out in the previous round, broke the record in the third game of his match on Court Two with his fifth ace.
Record-keeping began in 1991.
“It’s actually really cool,” Isner said before Friday’s match, looking ahead to breaking the record.
“It’s something I’m really proud of. I will be the all-time leader. I’ll keep playing, keep adding to my total… I don’t know if (the record) will get broken. I could be up there for a long time.”
Isner, who stands six feet 10 inches (208 centimetres) tall, is also in the record books for taking part in the longest match in tennis history in 2010, against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.
A plaque was unveiled outside Court 18 at Wimbledon to commemorate the contest, which lasted 11 hours and five minutes.
‘Give him another plaque,” US tennis great John McEnroe said on ESPN.
TIAFOE STEALS THE SHOW IN BUBLIK CIRCUS ACT
American 23rd seed Frances Tiafoe kept his focus in the face of an Alexander Bublik circus act to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time.
The 24-year-old punched the air with delight as the crowd-pleasing Bublik double-faultedto seal a 3-6 7-6(1) 7-6(3) 6-4 victory in front an enthralled audience on Court Two.
Kazakhstan’s Bublik is one of the great entertainers in men’s tennis — a rival to Nick Kyrgios in terms of trick shots but without the scowls and controversy.
And he did not disappoint as he dipped in to his box of tricks of dinks, slices and under-arm serves, not forgetting some seriously powerful conventional weaponry.
But Tiafoe, whose game is also spectacular when firing, deservedly took the win to avenge last week’s first-round defeat by Bublik at Eastbourne.
“It was definitely a tough one,” Tiafoe said on court. “At the end, when he was spinning in underarm serves and those antics, I was close to losing my head.
“There is no game plan against that. You’ve just got to take care of your side of the court. It’s not easy because he can hit some crazy shots.”
Bublik held the upper hand when he took the opening set but Tiafoe proved the more reliable in the tiebreaks that ended the next two sets. Bublik appeared to have thrown in the towel when trailing 3-0 in the fourth but it was just a ruse.
The world number 38 delivered virtually every first serve under arm in the following game and when most of them failed to land in the box he followed up with 130mph second serves.Somehow he held serve and there was pure genius from Bublik in the next few games, including a nonchalant no-look drop shot that provoked a bow to the crowd.
He miraculously retrieved a lob on the way to winning a magical rally with a volley and break serve, before squaring the set at 4-4 with a booming ace.
Tiafoe looked in danger of becoming a prop in the Bublik sideshow and faced a break point at 4-4 but the American banged down an ace and held with a brilliant drop shot reply to a Bublik serve return drop shot.
The crowd wanted the match to go on but Bublik could not hold at 4-5 — leaving the court smiling and to huge cheers.
Tiafoe, only the third active American male player to reach the last 16 at four Grand Slams, will face a more conventional test next against David Goffin or Ugo Umbert.
DUTCH WILDCARD EXTENS FAIRYTALE RUN
Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven continued his fairytale grasscourt run, claiming his eight straight victory on the surface to storm into the fourth round on his Grand Slam main draw debut.
The 25-year-old was ranked 205th in the world and had not won a title even on the Challenger Tour when he triumphed at the ATP 250 grasscourt event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, defeating world number one Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-1 in the final.
“From the outside it obviously looks like a fairytale because it came out of nowhere for a lot of people,” Van Rijthoven told reporters after defeating 22nd seed Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia 6-4 6-3 6-4 in the third round.
“Also, the ATP title for me came out of nowhere because I didn’t even win a challenger title before. Played some finals. The level there is just also very high.
“It’s basically a sum-up of a lot of hard work, a lot of belief, and eventually very positive vibes just going into matches and going into practices.”
Van Rijthoven defeated big-serving American Reilly Opelka, seeded 15th, in his previous round and Friday’s victory made him the first men’s wildcard to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon since Denis Kudla in 2015.
He sent down 21 aces against Basilashvili.
“For me the serve I think is working fantastic,” said the Dutchman, who was deprived of three years of his playing career due to three major injuries. “I’ve only been broken the last, let’s say, eight matches a couple times.
“Because of the serve I can just set up my game very well. I like to play aggressive, like to play a lot of forehands, also like to use my slice. All those things are very nice to have on grass.”
Next up is a potential meeting with six-times Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who meets fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic later on Friday.
“Before the tournament started, it was a dream for me to play him basically,” said Van Rijthoven, whose news conference on Friday was moved from a smaller room to the main interview room due to the media interest.
“So to be able to have that chance and to maybe even play on Centre Court or Court One is beautiful and magical.
“I go into every match thinking I can win the match. Also against Djokovic I’ll go into that match thinking I can win that match.”
DJOKOVIC SCHOOLS KECMANOVIC
Novak Djokovic clinically disposed of fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic as he continued his relentless pursuit of a fourth successive Wimbledon title with a 6-0 6-3 6-4 victory.
The top seed was unplayable in the opening set of his third-round match on Centre Court, taking it in 24 minutes.
Kecmanovic, seeded 25, received the biggest cheer of the day when he finally got on the scoreboard after 35 minutes by taking a long service game.
But Djokovic was streets ahead of his 22-year-old rival as he reached the last 16 at Wimbledon for the 14th time.
The 35-year-old needed just one break of serve in the second set and broke twice in the third to lead 5-2 before blotting his copybook slightly with a couple of loose games.
It only delayed the inevitable, however, as Djokovic completed victory to set up a clash with Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven.
ALCARAZ HOT-FOOTS IT INTO FOURTH ROUND
Carlos Alcaraz stayed on course for a potential quarterfinal showdown with six-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic after taking care of tricky German opponent Oscar Otte with a no-nonsense 6-3 6-1 6-2 third round win.
Otte had stretched twice champion Andy Murray to five sets in a late-night second-round blockbuster 12 months ago but any hopes of a repeat were quickly extinguished by the fifth seed who seems to have found his comfort zone on grass.
The 19-year-old Spaniard, who had won only one match on grass before this year’s championships, appears to have found his feet on the lush surface as he saved the only break point he faced on Friday while capturing his opponent’s serve six times.
He wrapped up the contest when Otte misfired the ball into the sky and will next face Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner. If he wins that match and Djokovic beats Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven, the pair will meet in the last eight next week.