Marathon man Isner loses in 2nd round at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — One day after winning the longest tennis match ever, John Isner lost in about 75 minutes.

The Wimbledon marathon man looked weary from the outset Friday, required treatment for a neck injury and was beaten by unseeded Thiemo de Bakker 6-0, 6-3, 6-2.

Isner had no aces after hitting a record 112 in his epic three-day victory over Nicolas Mahut.

“The turnaround time — he just didn’t have enough time to get his body right,” said Isner’s coach, Craig Boynton. “He’s one tired boy.”

Starting shortly after noon in warm sunshine, Isner received a standing ovation when he walked onto court. He immediately lost his serve — something that didn’t happen once in his 70-68 fifth set against Mahut.

Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, two Belgians making Wimbledon comebacks, won to set up a fourth-round showdown Monday.

Clijsters, seeded eighth, beat No. 27 Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-3. Henin, seeded 17th, defeated No. 12 Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-4.

No. 4 Jelena Jankovic beat No. 28 Alona Bondarenko 6-0, 6-3. No. 11 Marion Bartoli, the 2007 runner-up, defeated Greta Arn 6-3, 6-4.

Isner didn’t warm up before taking the court and showed up unshaven. He dropped the first set in 16 minutes, winning only nine points while committing 11 unforced errors.

After the set, he took an injury timeout and received a neck massage from a trainer. Boynton said Isner’s neck began to stiffen after the Mahut match.

After the loss, Isner pulled out of doubles before his first-round match with partner Sam Querrey, citing a toe injury.

“Your body’s like, ‘Hey, what are you doing to me here?’” Boynton said. “I mean, that match seemed like it was two weeks long.”

The crowd roared when Isner finally won a game after 32 minutes to trail 2-1 in the second set. His shots began to show more zip, but his movement remained sluggish. Several times he didn’t even pursue shots, and when he buried a forehand in the net in the third set, he bent over with his hands on his knees.

Isner’s average first serve was 114 mph, well off his normal pace, which often tops 130. He won less than half his service points and never reached break point on de Bakker’s serve.

“I wouldn’t have bet a lot of money on him today,” said Isner’s mother, Karen. “But he did his best.”

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