U.S. Open tennis | Isner uses 38 aces to oust Roddick in 3rd round

NEW YORK — Andy Roddick's U.S. Open is over much sooner than he expected.

Coming off a tough loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, Roddick came to Flushing Meadows with a rebuilt game and serious self-belief. But running into strong-serving, 6-foot-9 John Isner in the third round proved to be too much to handle.

The 55th-ranked Isner smacked 38 aces to beat the fifth-seeded Roddick 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5) Saturday in a matchup of Americans.

In other high-profile matches, top-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia lost 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5) to 72nd-ranked Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Melanie Oudin, 17, of Marietta, Ga., beat 29th-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

It is the first time Isner has reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament. Roddick, in contrast, won the 2003 U.S. Open and has been the runner-up at a major four times, most recently at the All England Club in July.

"It's tough. I mean, I don't know if I've come to a tournament with as much confidence — into a Slam — as I did with this tournament," Roddick said. "Leaving earlier than I want to."

His loss marked the first significant upset in the men's bracket: The men seeded No. 1 through No. 16 were 38-0 before Roddick and Isner played.

Roddick's groundstrokes were clean, with 20 unforced errors — 32 fewer than Isner. Roddick won 162 points, compared with 155 for Isner.

But Isner came through in the tiebreakers.

"I mean, there's a lot that's out of your hands with the way he plays. I said it before: You can't really teach 6-9, especially coming down on a serve," Roddick said. "You try to fight it off as much as you can.

"Sometimes you can, and sometimes it's completely out of your hands."

After escaping the first two rounds with poorly played three-set victories, Safina wasted three match points Saturday night and finished with nine double faults and 39 total unforced errors.

Safina's departure means the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, are the only members of the top five women left in the field.

Oudin, choking back tears in her postmatch interview at Arthur Ashe Stadium, said, "I don't even know what to say right now.

"Thank you so much for cheering for me."

Oudin added the upset of Sharapova to one over No. 4 Elena Dementieva of Russia in the second round and her victory over ex-No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia this year at Wimbledon.

"I learned, once again, that I can compete with these top girls, and if I believe in myself and my game, then I can beat them," said the 5-foot-6 Oudin, the youngest American woman among the U.S. Open's final 16 since Serena Williams a decade ago.