Isner Drops Hall Of Fame Opener
POSTED: 6:05 pm EDT July 8,
2008
Newport, RI -- (Sports Network) - Towering American John Isner was among Tuesday's opening-round losers at the $385,000 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.The 6-foot-9 fifth-seeded Isner succumbed to fellow American Jesse Levine 6-3, 6-1 on the grass courts at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Two other seeds managed to advance, as No. 7 Canadian Frank Dancevic held off American wild card Taylor Dent 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, while No. 8 South African Kevin Anderson snuck past Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-3. The 27-year-old oft-injured Dent, the 2002 Newport champion, was appearing in his first ATP-level match since February 2006. Indian qualifier Prakash Amritraj overcame Aussie Joseph Sirianni 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-4, while Pakistani Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi defeated German Benjamin Becker 7-5, 7-6 (7-5). The top seeds here are American Mardy Fish and defending champion Fabrice Santoro, who defeated Nicolas Mahut in last year's all-French finale. Fish will open his week against Indian Rohan Bopanna, while the French Santoro will face Qureshi in the second round. The 2008 Newport titlist will collect $64,000.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.








