John Isner has progressed into the second round of the French Open by beating local favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert in straight sets in Paris this evening.
Despite being ranked outside the top 100 in the ATP rankings, the Frenchman proved a stubborn opposition for the world number 11 as Isner needed two tiebreak wins and a 7-5 victory in the final set to down Herbert.
Remarkably, neither player broke the other's service until the last game of the match, and there was little to separate the pair in the scoreline.
The duo went the distance in the opening two sets, with Isner winning the tiebreaks 7-5 and 7-4 respectively.
Both played out another enthralling set as the pair were deadlocked on five games apiece, but after two-and-a-half hours, Herbert's resistance finally waned as Isner inflicted the match's first break of serve to win 7-5 and move into round two.
Shane Callaghan
