Isner unable to recover after epic and quickly tumbles out

Sporting triumphs can be notoriously fleeting but Thiemo de Bakker's 6-0 6-3 6-2 victory over the the towering American in one hour 14 minutes was a particularly savage change of fortunes.

The three-day contest which carved Isner a niche in tennis history had obviously taken its toll.

He made a forlorn figure on Court Five as his serve failed to ignite, and had to wait until the second game of the second set before winning a game.

Isner managed to salvage five games from the match after the trainer arrived to massage his neck but that was the extent of his resistance.

"Mentally and physically I was a bit drained," he said later. "I was just low on fuel out there. I didn't really have a chance."

A stiff neck and a blistered toe were other reminders of his monumental efforts in toppling Mahut but there were no regrets from the marathon man.

"I wasn't going to quit on Thursday," he said. "It wasn't like I was dying out there. I was just tired."

Isner was sorry not to reach the third round at Wimbledon. But there was comfort to be drawn from leaving the tournament – he withdrew from the doubles – with a secure place in the annals of the game.

His achievement, and let us not overlook the contribution of Mahut, is unlikely to be surpassed.

De Bakker began with the first of nine aces – Isner had produced a mammoth 112 aces against his French opponent but yesterday could not find one – and, with a full day to recover from his own epic first-round match against Santiago Giraldo, was comparatively full of energy.

The 21-year-old Dutchman, who is in the third round for the first time, had lots of sympathy for his deflated opponent.

"After my first match, I was pretty tired as well but 16-14 (in his last set) is nothing anymore," he said.

"I was lucky that I had him in my second round. It would have been a bigger story if he had made it to the final but it's pretty tough when you've played 11 hours."

Victories for Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin yesterday set up a fourth-round encounter between the two gifted Belgians who have made a welcome return to tennis after temporary retirement.

Clijsters was absent from 2007 to the summer of 2009 to get married and have a baby; Henin retired in 2008 saying she had lost her love for the game, but returned this year.

Both are outstanding examples of players who can think as well as make shots. They offer an alternative to mindless baseline slugging, and Henin's classic backhand is one of the outstanding shots in the women's game.

It's a shame that one of them has to go in Monday's match. Henin, who has made winning Wimbledon the prime incentive for coming back to the game, will not be short of business-like determination. But the serene and unflappable Clijsters has only to produce the form she showed in winning last year's

US Open to move into the quarter finals.

When Henin and Clijsters were at the top of the rankings, much was made of an apparently awkward relationship between two very different characters.

But much has changed in the intervening years, with Clijsters starting a family and Henin concentrating on charity and media work and her tennis academy.

"I think we've definitely grown up," said eighth seed Clijsters.

"I think we've had great times together playing Fed Cup and just messaging each other and teasing each other.

"That's how I would have liked it to have always been."