Isner loses in 5 sets at 4th Grand Slam this year

Isner left all four Grand Slam tournaments this year with five-set losses, and he didn't make it past the third round at any of them.

"It's disappointing," he said, staring down at the floor.

"I didn't play the right way, and that's been the story when I've lost at Slams," said Isner, at No. 9 the highest-seeded American man at Flushing Meadows. "I just played too passively and it doesn't work out when I do that."

The 19th-seeded Kohlschreiber won his sixth consecutive five-setter. The official completion time of this one was the same as a second-round U.S. Open match in 1993, when Mats Wilander beat Mikael Pernfors.

"Of course, it's very late, so everybody here is really a crazy tennis fan," Kohlschreiber told the few fans who remained during an on-court interview.

An earlier three-set victory by Maria Sharapova in Arthur Ashe Stadium was interrupted by a rain delay, and Isner and Kohlschreiber didn't start until after 11 p.m. Sunday. They played 3 hours, 20 minutes.

That length pales in comparison to Isner's record 11-hour, 5-minute victory that stretched over three days at Wimbledon in the first round in 2010, and his 5-hour, 41-minute loss at the French Open in the second round in May.

Isner departed the Australian Open in the third round in January, and Wimbledon in the first round in June.

Against Kohlschreiber, the 6-foot-9 Isner hit 22 aces, but he lost all three break points he faced. He only was able to break the German twice in 11 chances.

"I felt like the match was in my hands at one point there in the fourth set, and I let it get away," Isner said.

After that set, which ended at about 1:30 a.m., a sweat-soaked Isner headed to the locker room for a full wardrobe change, even switching shoes.

"It was really humid out there. As soon as I started playing, I knew that was going to be an issue," he said. "I always struggle when it's humid, and really from the get-go, I didn't have my legs."