In a matchup of American tennis present and future, 31-year-old John Isner rallied from down two sets to edge 18-year-old Frances Tiafoe in the first round of the U.S. Open in New York.
The 125th-ranked Tiafoe, who is from Riverdale in Prince George's County and trained at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, had a chance to serve out the match in the fifth set Monday, but Isner broke back then pulled away in the final tiebreaker to win 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (3) in 3 hours, 27 minutes.
"Probably played the best return game I played all match," Isner. "Even though I was pretty haggard out there, I got a jolt of energy when I got it back to 5-4."
It was just the second career comeback from two sets down for Isner. Tiafoe had never before played a five-set match.
The 20th-seeded Isner has finished each of the last four years as the top-ranked U.S. man and has now won 11 straight Grand Slam first-round matches. He's 5-0 against fellow Americans at majors.
Tiafoe, who got in with a wild card, has just two career tour-level wins. He had played in two previous Grand Slam tournaments, losing in the first round both times. Tiafoe reaching four ATP Challenger finals since April and claiming his first ATP Challenger title at the $100,000 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby in Canada this month.
Colleges
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