Isner wins longest match one day; loses shortest the next

WIMBLEDON, England (AP):

One day after winning the longest tennis match in history, John Isner lost the shortest men's match at Wimbledon so far this year.

It was back to normal, meanwhile, for defending champion Roger Federer, who showed he was back at the top of his game by sweeping Arnaud Clement in straight sets to reach the fourth round in his bid for a seventh Wimbledon crown.

Marathon man Isner looked weary from the outset yesterday, required treatment for a neck injury and was beaten by unseeded Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-3, 6-2.

The second-round match was over in just one hour, 14 minutes, and the five games won by Isner were the fewest by a male player this week.

It was a complete turnaround from Isner's epic three-day victory over Nicolas Mahut, which lasted 11 hours, five minutes and went to 70-68 in the fifth set.

What's more, Isner served no aces yesterday after hitting a record 112 against Mahut.

"I've never been this exhausted before," Isner said. "Mentally and physically, I was obviously a bit drained. I just didn't have much in the way of my legs. I was just low on fuel out there. Didn't really have a chance."

Federer looked perfectly fresh as he demolished Clement 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, playing like the old grasscourt master himself after being stretched to five sets in his first-round match and four in the second.

Federer saved the only break point against him, hit 29 winners, made only 12 unforced errors and left Centre Court to a rousing standing ovation.

"I get standing ovations 99 per cent of the time - doesn't matter if the performance was great or not so great," he said. "I think they're happy to see me and they love tennis. ... But, of course, when I end up winning and they give me a reception like this, it feels good at the heart."

Federer will next play 16th-seeed Jurgen Melzer, who beat Feliciano Lopez in four sets. Federer and the Austrian played doubles together as juniors but have never faced each other in singles on the tour.

The man Federer has beaten in three Wimbledon finals, Andy Roddick, served 28 aces in a 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber to make the round of 16.

The fifth-seeded American broke four times and saved all seven break points against him.

Roddick next faces Yen-Hsun Lu, who became the first Taiwanese man to make the fourth round of a Grand Slam. He was leading Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-4, 2-1 when the German retired injured.

In women's play, five-time champion Venus Williams moved into the fourth round by beating Russia's Alisa Kleybanova 6-4, 6-2. Williams was down 3-1 in the first set before taking control with her power game, as both players went for big shots from the baseline.

Fourth-round showdown

Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters - two Belgians making Wimbledon comebacks - won in straight sets to set up a fourth-round showdown on 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.

Clijsters and Henin will play each other for the 25th time, but the first time in a Grand Slam since 2006. Their rivalry stands at 12-12 and has become friendlier over the years.

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.

No. 3 Novak Djokovic reached the round of 16 by beating No. 28 Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. That sets up an intriguing fourth-round battle against 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt. The 15th-seeded seeded Australian, enjoying a resurgence after returning from hip surgery, advanced with a 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-4 win over Frenchman Gael Monfils.

In a minor upset, 13th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia was ousted by Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4, 2-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

boasting two spinners, they needed more pitches to be in their favour.

"It is going to be a bouncy track again and that might be suitable for South Africa's quicks as well, but at the same time it is our hometown and we should be accustomed to these conditions and try to adapt and execute out there properly," Gayle said.

"When you look at the way that the games have been played especially in Trinidad, the conditions suited the South Africans when you look at their experienced attack.

"We have two capable spinners in our team. Maybe a wicket like Guyana would play a part for us. These things (preparing pitches to suit our bowling) we need to take on board more seriously. If we want to win more games we need to allow the home advantage to suit us more."

Selectors have drafted in Barbadian opener Dale Richards for the out-of-form Travis Dowlin, and he will partner Gayle at the top of the order.

West Indies have lost fast bowler Ravi Rampaul to a side strain and was hit with another injury blow on Thursday when all-rounder Darren Sammy was also ruled out with an injury to his right thigh.

Assistance

It means fast bowler Nelon Pascal, who made his debut in Trinidad but was dropped for the second Test, will make an appearance to partner Kemar Roach in the attack.

West Indies have not beaten South Africa in a series since the one-off Test in 1992, the year the Proteas were readmitted to international cricket.

Their captain Graeme Smith said he was hoping to close out the series with a win at the Oval and backed the pitch to offer assistance to his faster bowlers.

"We have had an excellent tour of the West Indies so far and it would be a pity not to finish it off on a high note," Smith said.

"We did not have an even contest between bat and ball in (St Kitts), which made it very difficult to get a result.

"Judging from what we have seen in Barbados during the recent Twenty20 World Cup, there is a good chance of having a surface with reasonable bounce there."

SQUADS:

WEST INDIES (from): Chris Gayle (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice captain), Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Dale Richards, Brendan Nash, Nelon Pascal, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Shane Shillingford.

SOUTH AFRICA (from): Graeme Smith (captain), Jacques Kallis (vice captain), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, Abraham deVilliers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Paul Harris, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Peterson, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.