John Isner, of the United States, hits a backhand return during a match against Benjamin Becker, of Germany, at the L.A. Tennis Open, Tuesday, July 28, 2009, in Los Angeles. Isner won 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3). (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — John Isner upset No. 7 seed Benjamin Becker 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3), in the first round of the L.A. Tennis Open at UCLA on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-9 Isner, who had mononucleosis and was absent from the ATP Tour for three months, returned to action last week at Indianapolis, where he lost to eventual champion Robby Ginepri in the semifinals.

Isner said he was “maybe a little bit tired today” after Tuesday’s 2-hour, 5-minute win that came on the heels of four matches at Indianapolis.

“I’ve just got to get in a little better shape, match shape,” he said. “When you take a month off and don’t do anything you lose a lot.”

There were just two service breaks in the match, both in the second set. Becker got the first, to take a 3-1 lead, then had what he called “a 5-minute mental letdown” and lost his serve.

That was the only one of eight break points converted by Isner, but it got him back on serve and eventually into the tiebreaker, where he won the final four points.

No. 5 seed Igor Kunitsyn got his title bid under way with a 7-5, 6-2 win over qualifier Somdev Devvarman, an NCAA singles champion while at Virginia.

Ernests Gulbis beat Yen-Hsun Lu of Tapei, 7-5, 6-2; qualifier Ryan Sweeting topped Taylor Dent, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, in a matchup of Americans; and qualifier Carsten Ball eliminated Marc Gicquel 6-2, 7-6 (6) in other early matches.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.