Greg Garber, Senior Writer 9y

Isner leads successful day for American men

Tennis

LONDON -- Serena Williams was holding court in the jam-packed main interview room here at the All England Club, while John Isner chatted with a lone reporter in Room No. 2.

The No. 17 seed and top-ranked American man was waiting for the exodus of American tennis writers so he could begin his press conference Monday after a 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 win over Go Soeda of Japan.

Then he spotted Serena's agent, Jill Smoller, walking outside the door.

"Jill, can we hurry this up?" Isner said, smiling.

A moment later, he brought Smoller and fellow American Jack Sock into the interview room to ask a few questions.

"I think you might have a future in the business," Isner told Sock as a handful of reporters entered the room.

The news on Day 1 for the American men? A tidy 3-1 mark -- not a bad start.

Here are five Wimbledon Takeaways:

1. Isner provides room service: The 6-foot-10 American has always maintained that the grass at Wimbledon is the surface most conducive to his success in the Grand Slams. In beating Soeda, Isner stroked 38 aces and won 63 of 68 first-serve points, for a robust 93 percent.

2. The queue is pretty cool: Isner loves the tradition at Wimbledon and the queue, where fans can line up and buy daily tickets to the show courts. It's one of his favorite concepts. "It's like Krzyzewskiville in Durham ," Isner noted. "They camp out for the tickets. It's pretty neat. This is a special tournament. Even if you're not a tennis fan, this is something that should be on everyone's bucket list."

3. Kudla surprises Cuevas: Denis Kudla, a 22-year-old born in Kiev, Ukraine, and now residing in Arlington, Virginia, dropped the first two sets to No. 28 seed Pablo Cuevas but rallied furiously to win 6-7 (4), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Kudla won for only the third time this year and for the fourth time in a Grand Slam event.

4. Johnson wins first match at Wimbledon: After going 0-for-2 in his career, Steve Johnson defeated Lukas Lacko 6-3, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Johnson, a two-time NCAA singles champion, hit 33 aces and was only broken twice.

5. Young falls in first: Donald Young, who won the junior boys title here in 2007, lost to Marcos Baghdatis 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. The 25-year-old from Atlanta saw his record fall to 14-14 for the season.

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