WIMBLEDON, England — One day after winning the longest tennis match in history, American 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 Friday, required treatment for a neck injury and was beaten 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 by unseeded Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands.
The second-round match was over in just 1 hour, 14 minutes, and the five games won by Isner are the fewest by a male player this week.
It was a complete turnaround from Isner’s epic three- day victory over Nicolas Mahut — a match that lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes and went to 70-68 in the fifth set.
What’s more, Isner served no aces Friday 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.”
Starting shortly after noon in warm sunshine, Isner immediately lost his serve — something that didn’t happen once in his fifth set against Mahut.
“The turnaround time — he just didn’t have enough time to get his body right,” said Isner’s coach, Craig Boynton. “He’s one tired boy.”
Federer looked perfectly fresh as he demolished Clement 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, playing like the old grass-court 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 percent 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 seed 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.
“I’m excited about having a weekend off, because it’s been a tough first week,” Federer said. “Not as tough as Isner and Mahut, of course, but still somewhat tough mentally. So I’m looking forward to Monday.”
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.
Leading 5-4 in the second set, Roddick got to love-40 on Kohlschreiber’s serve. But Roddick frittered away all three of those set points, then lost the last three points of the tiebreaker too. Did he let that bother him? No, he went out and broke to open the third set.
“I’ve done a good job of not saying a word out there this whole tournament, just going about my business the right way,” Roddick said.
Roddick next plays Yen-Hsun Lu, who became the first Taiwanese man to make the fourth round of a Grand Slam. Lu was leading Florian Mayer when the German retired with an injury.
At a glance
Friday at Wimbledon, from the All England Club:
Men’s seeded winners: No. 1 Roger Federer, No. 3 Novak Djokovic, No. 5 Andy Roddick, No. 12 Tomas Berdych, No. 15 Lleyton Hewitt, No. 16 Jurgen Melzer.
Men’s seeded losers: No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny, No. 21 Gael Monfils, No. 22 Feliciano Lopez, No. 23 John Isner, No. 28 Albert Montanes, No. 29 Philipp Kohlschreiber, No. 31 Victor Hanescu.
Women’s seeded winners: No. 2 Venus Williams, No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, No. 8 Kim Clijsters, No. 11 Marion Bartoli, No. 17 Justine Henin, No. 21 Vera Zvonareva.
Women’s seeded losers: No. 12 Nadia Petrova, No. 15 Yanina Wickmayer, No. 26 Alisa Kleybanova, No. 27 Maria Kirilenko, No. 28 Alona Bondarenko.
Noteworthy: Belgians Henin and Clijsters play each other for the 25th time Monday. The rivalry is tied 12-all.
Quoteworthy: “I get standing ovations 99 percent of the time.” — Federer
Weather: Partly cloudy, high of 78.
