Gilles Muller got the better of three tightly-fought sets against John Isner to end the USA representation in the Australian Open men's singles this morning.
The 19th seed was the last American standing in Melbourne, but exits at the third round courtesy of a 6(4)-7 6-7(8) 4-6 defeat to the world number 42.
Isner saved what proved to be the solitary break point of the first set in the opening game as two big-serving styles dominated the action.
Only four further points were won against the serve before the opener was settled by a tie-break, which Muller won at the first attempt thanks to an ace.
It was a similar story in the second, although this time Muller was applying more constant pressure to the Isner serve as the American had to save two break points and a set point to force another tie-break.
A breaker in which both players saved set points but were never separated by more than a point, until Muller struck a powerful winner to earn a two-set advantage, was indicative of a match of fine margins.
The experienced Luxembourgian claimed the first and only break of the contest seven games into the third to gain a crucial lead, which he maintained by saving the single break point that he faced in the next game.
Muller held to love to serve out for a victory which marks his best Grand Slam performance since the 2008 US Open, with his reward a likely fourth-round tie against world number one Novak Djokovic next week.
