MELBOURNE PARK, Australia – American John Isner rallied form two sets to one down on Wednesday to defeat Argentina’s David Nalbandian 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 10-8 in four hours and forty-one minutes to move on to the third round of the Australian Open.
An angry Nalbandian was upset that his request for a line call was denied by umpire Kader Nouni.
“I asked for Hawk‑Eye and he make an overrule,†said Nalbandian. “Because the lineman call out. He overrule it. Was a lot of noises, so I asked what happened, because the lineman called out.
“He told me he overruled it. And I say, Okay, I see the mark. I say challenge. Not a big deal. He don’t want to do it.
“Too late. How many times everybody check the mark and ask for the Hawk‑Eye?
“So somebody from the umpires or ATP, somebody can explain to me this situation. I mean, what is this? This is a Grand Slam.
“Yeah, it was a great match. But I think I think I lose another one like that, as well: semifinals US Open with Andy Roddick was another one, more important this second round today.â€
“I don’t really know what was going on,” said Isner, “but, you know, obviously the ump didn’t think he challenged in time. But maybe because of the crowd noise the ump, you know, couldn’t hear it or whatnot.
“So I don’t know. I mean, the only thing ‑‑ I just wanted to get to the changeovers and have a sip of water, so…
“No, that break went in my favor, for sure don’t know. I mean, I think I played the big points better. I think I was going for my shots more.
“I mean, for two, three hours of that match I felt like he was just so solid, and he was just too solid for me. Only thing that was keeping me in was my serve, obviously. He from the back of the court was, you know, just not missing much and, you know, playing aggressively and playing really well.
“I knew he was capable of that. I mean, I was hoping he wasn’t going to pull it out today. I felt like he played well, but I just hung in there. I mean, I was hanging by a thread, but, you know, I kept pulling even, you know, with my serve and I was going for my shots.
“Eventually it paid off.”