Isner Ousts Roddick From US Open

NEW YORK (AP) -- It was a day of upsets at the U.S. Open on Saturday.

Hours after Melanie Oudin toppled Maria Sharapova, another unheralded American pulled off another upset of a past U.S. Open champion: 55th-ranked John Isner pounded 38 aces and eliminated No. 5 Andy Roddick 7-6 (3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (5) to reach the fourth round at a major tournament for the first time.

Roddick is the first of the top 16 men to lose this week. He won the 2003 Open and came oh-so-close to winning Wimbledon in July, but he now must resume his pursuit of a second career major title next year.

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Instead, it's the 6-foot-9 Isner who moves on, thanks to some outstanding serving and success at the net: He won 42 of 67 points when he pushed forward.

Nothing happening around the tournament grounds on a busy Saturday afternoon matched the buzz of Oudin-Sharapova, although that would have changed had 276th-ranked Jesse Witten of Naples, Fla., managed to pull off a similar stunner against No. 4 Novak Djokovic.

Witten won one set, and had chances to take another, before losing 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

"I wasn't getting outplayed too much," said Witten, 0-6 in tour-level matches before this week. "I felt like I was right at home a little bit."

Before Roddick's loss, the top 16 men in the tournament were a combined 38-0. Leading the way was No. 1 Roger Federer, who overcame a sloppy first set and tumble to the court to beat two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Federer has won 14 consecutive matches against Hewitt, and 37 in a row at Flushing Meadows.

"I knew that being down a set against Lleyton is always going to be a difficult situation for me to be in: Make one more mistake and I'm in the fifth set, maybe, or I go down completely," said Federer, trying to become the first man since the 1920s to win the American Grand Slam tournament six consecutive years. "So I was relieved coming through."

Also into the fourth round: No. 8 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 10 Fernando Verdasco and French Open runner-up Robin Soderling, who beat No. 22 Sam Querrey of the United States 6-2, 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1.

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