NEW YORK — John Isner, the top-seeded American man in the U.S. Open main draw at No. 9, survived the crafty shot-making and continual temper tantrums displayed by 32-year-old Belgian veteran Xavier Malisse on Wednesday in a first-round singles match.
Isner won, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-6 (9), and kept his mouth shut when Malisse couldn't. Among many rants, Malisse told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, in an impolite way, to keep its collective mouth shut; was disgruntled when suite-holders didn't keep their doors shut and acted stunned when fans weren't back in their seats promptly after changeovers, as if he had never been in New York before.
