PARIS — Roger Federer finally cracked under the unrelenting serve of John Inser, losing 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (5) to the American in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion looked like he might grind out a win, saving all six break points and fighting back from 6-2 down in the decisive tiebreaker. But the Swiss star's resistance ended when Isner — who had 27 aces in the match — hit a looping serve to Federer's backhand on his next match point.
"It's tough going out of a tournament without losing your serve, but that's what happened," the third-seeded Federer said.