If took 11 hours and 5 minutes for John Isner to win his first ESPY award.

The former Georgia tennis player was awarded an ESPY for Best Record-Breaking Performance following his record-breaking match against Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon last month. Isner dispatched Mahut 6-4, 2-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 70-68 over three days.

During Isner’s senior year at UGA, he was ranked No. 1 in singles and doubles and led the 2007 team to the NCAA championship. Next week Isner will play at the ATP Atlanta Tennis Championships and later this summer will compete at the U.S. Open.

Four Bulldogs Advance At ITA Summer Circuit

Georgia men’s tennis saw all four players advance on day one of the ITA Summer Circuit Thursday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Transfer Wil Spencer – making his Georgia debut – used a first round bye before earning a win in the second round, going 6-2, 6-3 over Connor Evins of Davidson. Spencer will take on Breon Badger of Georgia State Friday at 2 p.m. in the Round of 16.

Rising sophomore Will Reynolds also had a bye before he cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over GSU’s Mario Cardenas in the second round. Reynolds advances to face Peter Coulis of Flagler Friday at 9:30 a.m.

Reynolds’ classmate Will Oliver won his second round match over Jackson Moore of Florida Golf Coast, 6-3, 7-6, and will play Taylor Snook of Furman Friday at 10 a.m.

Incoming freshman Eric Diaz rounded out Georgia’s perfect day one performance as he won two matches on the day to join his teammates in the Round of 16. Diaz defeated Tennessee’s Taylor Patrick in the first round, 6-4, 6-1, before besting Richmond’s David Weissman, 6-3, 6-1, in the second. Diaz will take on Bryan Haywood of Washington University Friday at 9:30 a.m.

Kelli Jordan of the UGA women’s team was defeated, 6-1, 6-1, by Elon’s Briana Berne in her first round match Thursday.

UGA is the third stop on the Southeastern Circuit, one of eight regionals that give incoming freshmen and returnees a chance to play during the offseason. Each region includes four open tournaments in July leading up to the ITA National Summer Championships Aug. 7-11 in Bloomington, Ind.

Ignacio Taboada To Join Georgia Men’s Tennis

The Georgia men’s tennis team will add Atlanta native Ignacio Taboada to the roster for the upcoming fall season, head coach Manuel Diaz announced Friday.

Taboada, who will compete this fall with two years of eligibility remaining, played his freshman and sophomore seasons at the University of Miami. He went 13-7 as a sophomore for the Hurricanes in 2009-10, including 4-2 at No. 5 and 6-3 at No. 6 during the dual match season. In doubles he played primarily at No. 3 where he went 6-2 with partner Carl Sundberg.

During his freshman season Taboada was the first Hurricane to post 20 wins in a season since 2003-04 and just the 21st in Miami men’s tennis history, finishing the 2008-09 campaign with a mark of 23-12. He competed at all positions between Nos. 2 and 6.

Taboada is one of six new additions to the Bulldogs for the fall of 2010 and is currently competing in the ITA Summer Curcuit on the Georgia campus.