Gilles Muller got the better of three tightly-fought sets against John Isner to end the USA representation in the Australian Open men's singles this morning.
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The 19th seed was the last American standing in Melbourne, but exits at the third round courtesy of a 6(4)-7 6-7(8) 4-6 defeat to the world number 42.
Isner saved what proved to be the solitary break point of the first set in the opening game as two big-serving styles dominated the action.
Only four further points were won against the serve before the opener was settled by a tie-break, which Muller won at the first attempt thanks to an ace.
It was a similar story in the second, although this time Muller was applying more constant pressure to the Isner serve as the American had to save two break points and a set point to force another tie-break.
A breaker in which both players saved set points but were never separated by more than a point, until Muller struck a powerful winner to earn a two-set advantage, was indicative of a match of fine margins.
The experienced Luxembourgian claimed the first and only break of the contest seven games into the third to gain a crucial lead, which he maintained by saving the single break point that he faced in the next game.
Muller held to love to serve out for a victory which marks his best Grand Slam performance since the 2008 US Open, with his reward a likely fourth-round tie against world number one Novak Djokovic next week.
Joe Fish
