Australian Open: John Isner Through To Third Round, Juan Martin Del Potro Is Not

Lauren LynchJan 20, 2011

With little margin for error, American John Isnerwon three straight sets to defeat Radek Stepanek, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1, and advance to the third round of the Australian Open Thursday.

The victory propels Isner into a match with 15th-seeded Marin Cilic, a 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-1 win over Santiago Giraldo.

It was another day of big service for the 6'9'' American as he racked up 20 aces and hit 79 percent of his first serves and 63 percent of his seconds for winners. Breaking Stepanek five times in seven opportunities also paid huge dividends for Isner, who is seeking to reach the fourth round here for a second straight year.

In the late match, Marcos Baghdatis cut short another comeback try by Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro in four sets, 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Del Potro shot himself in the foot repeatedly, making 41 unforced errors while Baghdatis racked up 15 aces and hit 42 of 48 first serves for winners in advancing to the third round, where he will take on Jurgen Melzer.

The men's draw Thursday was again without any major upsets, as the top seeds went about their business, by and large. No. 4 Robin Soderling, No. 5 Andy Murray, No. 13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 7 David Ferrer, No. 11 Melzer and No. 32 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez all went about their business in straight sets.

Not as lucky was 30th seed Thomaz Bellucci, who waged war in a marathon match against the Czech Republic's Jan Hernych. Hernych eventually won in five sets—6-2, 7-6(11), 6-4, 6-7(3), 8-6—in a match that took four hours and 36 minutes.

Also falling out of contention was Argentina's David Nalbandian. After his stirring five-set win over Lleyton Hewitt on Tuesday, Nalbandian retired while trailing Richard Berankis, 6-1, 6-0, 2-0.

The thriller of the day for the home fans was the win by native son Bernard Tomic, who upset 31st-seeded Feliciano Lopez, 7-6(4), 7-6(3), 6-3, for the right to face No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the third round.

Ranked 199th in the world entering the tournament, the 18-year-old Tomic was 0-2 on the year entering the main draw and is in his Australian Open debut.