SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)—Alejandro Falla overcame a slow start and then almost blew a big lead before outlasting Flavio Cipolla 7-6 (1), 7-6 (10) on Wednesday in the first round of the SAP Open.
After falling into a 4-1 deficit in the first set, the Colombian rolled off four straight games and blew away Cipolla in the tiebreaker. Falla took a 5-2 lead in the second and held off the Italian in a topsy-turvy tiebreaker to end a grueling 2-hour, 35-minute match on the indoor hard court.
Falla will face Australia's Marinko Matosevic in the second round.
John Isner advanced to the quarterfinals on Wednesday night with a 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 victory over Canada's Vasek Pospisil. The 16th-ranked Isner, part of the U.S. team that beat Brazil last weekend to advance to the Davis Cup quarterfinals, had a first-round bye.