John Isner Bounced By Feliciano Lopez At 2012 Australian Open

And with that, the American hopes at the 2012 Australian Open are dashed. John Isner, the last remaining American in play, fell to Feliciano Lopez in the third round in five sets.

Lopez opened the match with a 6-3 win in the first set, handling Isner early with relative ease. In the second, though, Isner bounced right back, coming away with a tiebreaker win, 7-6 (7-3). Lopez came right back to take the third set to inch ahead to a two sets to one advantage, 6-4.

Once again, Isner pushed Lopez all the way to a tiebreaker in the fourth, but this time he finished the set in dominating fashion. Isner took each and every tiebreak point, earning the set win 7-6 (7-0). One would think Isner was trending the right way after his fourth set performance.

Instead, Isner went down without much of a fight in the fifth, and decisive, set. Lopez took complete control of the final set, pushing ahead to a 6-1 win and advancing to the fourth round, 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-7 (0-7), 6-1.