John Isner has headed off into retirement after losing in singles and doubles at the U.S. Open. The 38-year-old American was beaten in final-set tiebreakers in both matches. That included a five-set exit against Michael Mmoh in singles before a packed house at the Grandstand at Flushing Meadows. Isner leaves with the record for career aces and finished with 48 against Mmoh. Isner and Jack Sock then lost in doubles. Isner is best known for winning the longest match in tennis history — one that lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes and ended 70-68 in the fifth set against Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010.
Jessica Pegula crushed Patricia Maria Tig 6-3, 6-1 at the U.S. Open on Thursday night in New York to set up a third-round clash with Elina Svitolina. The clean ball-striking of the top-ranked American was more than the world No. 700 from Romania could handle in a match that lasted just over an hour. Pegula, seeded third, never trailed in a contest where she won 80% of her first-serve points and broke Tig’s serve six times. Next up for the Buffalo native is Ukrainian Svitolina, who came from behind to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia earlier Thursday.
Carlos Alcaraz moved into the US Open third round on Thursday with an entertaining 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(4) win over Lloyd Harris in a match that also revealed a lack of sharpness the Spaniard will need to rectify if he is to successfully defend his crown. Some dazzling shot-making from the tournament’s top seed had the crowd on its feet, but behind the fun were some worrying flaws, as Alcaraz piled up 29 unforced errors and showed a lack of concentration at key moments.
