Rematch Is Nine Hours Shorter, but in the End, Isner Wins Again.

WIMBLEDON, England -- For all their discernible differences, Nicolas Mahut and John Isner are like two sides of the same piece of paper. When they met again Tuesday in the first round of Wimbledon, they might as well have been clutching pens in their hands instead of rackets. Mahut, the plucky Frenchman who lost to Isner in their history-making opener last year, wrote a book on the match, then returned to the All England Club keen on changing the ending. Isner, an affable American eager to be known as more than tennis's marathon man, came back intent on writing a new chapter to his career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]