John Isner, the six foot, ten inch North Carolina native who is the second tallest active player on tour and owner of one of the most potent serves in the sport, is yet to make his splash at Wimbledon, once the natural habitat of the serve-and-volley game, where men who served bombs thrived. To this date, his accolades at the All England Club are better represented by his 70/68 fifth set win over Nicolas Mahut in 2010 than any of his 6 career wins there – counting his first round two days ago.

The former top-10 player still has a long way to go before going on a deep run, but today he advanced another step, defeating Matthew Ebden in three sets, 6/2, 7/6, 6/4, to reach the third round and match his best result at the third Grand Slam of the year, accomplished last year.

The first set was your everyday Isner, spiced up by more efficient returns which was enough to earn him the frame without much trouble. After a pair of holds, Ebden double faulted to bring the first break point of the match. A forced error then handed the break to his American opponent, who in his turn fired two aces in a row to consolidate for 4/2. Back serving, the Aussie double-faulted to start the set, and down 15-40, saw the world number 17 break again. Isner didn’t even blink when serving for it, holding at 30.

In the second set, the American broke for the third time, to go up 2/1, despite Ebden fighting off a pair of break points. Isner, however, did not make the best of it, getting broken right back at love after a disastrous game that featured a winner, a forced error and two unforced errors. The two exchanged breaks until the tiebreak. In the decider, Isner was mini-broken first, but got the mini-break right back. This time, it was Ebden who wasted his chances. From 6-3 up, the Australian wasted three set points, and then a fourth at 7-6. Finally, after 51 minutes, the American claimed the set, 10-8.

The third set was another serve-first cruise for Isner. Despite fighting off break points in the ninth game, it was a rather comfortable frame for the 17th seed. As for the 148th-ranked Australian, the momentum he lost by not breaking his opponent when he had the chance proved to be fatal, as he stepped up to serve down 4/5 to stay in the tournament and failed, getting broken at 15 to put final numbers in the match.

John Isner now advances to play defending US Open champion Marin Cilic in the third round. The Croat has won all their previous four meetings, but their third round showdown will be the first time the two will meet on grass. 

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About the author
Pete Liguori
Sports writer for the Racing and Tennis sections on VAVEL. Also a huge baseball and football fan. Trying to live the Big City dream. Follow me on Twitter, chaps: @PeteUSSports