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NEW YORK -- By his own admission, 18th-seeded John Isner's second-round match at the U.S. Open was far from his best, but his reputation as the tiebreak king served him well in the end.

Isner, who has played more tiebreakers than anybody else on the ATP Tour this year with a total of 39, saved a set point in the third set tiebreak against Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland, moving into the third round with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 win.

"It wasn't my best, but I thought I played well given the circumstances," said Isner, who is returning from a three-week layoff due to an ankle injury. "I did a good job at keeping the points short and saving my energy, and stepped it up when I needed to."

Trying to take control of the points from the onset, Isner had five break opportunities in Chiudinelli's opening service game, but failed to convert any of them. He took advantage of them in Chiudinelli's next service game, breaking on his first opportunity when the Swiss player sent a forehand long. With Isner serving for the set at 5-3, two forehand winners and a volley put-away gave the Greensboro native triple set point. He wrapped up the set with a 126-mph ace.

Isner's advantage was erased when Chiudinelli won the second set 6-3.

Rain forced the third set to be suspended at 2-2. When play resumed after a 50-minute delay, Isner still struggled to find the range on his groundstrokes. Both players traded easy service holds throughout the set to bring the match into a tiebreak.

A forehand winner gave Isner his first set point at 7-6, but the Swiss player responded with a forehand winner of his own to bring the match back to 7-7. After a prolonged baseline rally, Chiudinelli finally set a forehand long, giving Isner his first set point of the tiebreak on his own serve. He responded with a 130-mph serve to take the third set and hold a 2-1 lead.

"Winning that tiebreak was critical," Isner said. "I've played a lot of them this year and the more experience you have in that situation, the better you're going to be."

In the fourth set, Isner began to charge the net more frequently, coming in behind several of his first serves and doing his best to avoid baseline rallies with Chiudinelli. The change of plan worked, and he began to make more of a dent when returning serve. Isner scored a break point chance at 3-3, but just barely missed a passing shot up the line.

"I was definitely feeling tired toward the end of the match," said Isner. "I wasn't able to train for two weeks because of my ankle or do any physical activity, so it feels like I'm not in the same shape as usual."

With Chiudinelli serving at 4-4, Isner hit a volley winner to set up another break-point chance. The Swiss player followed a short ball into the net, but sent his approach long and gave Isner the chance to serve out the match. He did so in style, hitting a 144-mph serve, the fastest of the tournament, to set up match point. He converted on his first opportunity and advanced to the third round, where he will play No. 12 seed Mikhail Youzhny, who won over Dudi Sela of Israel, on Sunday.

"Youhzny is a tough player because when he's on, he's really on and there's not a lot anybody can do," Isner said. "I just hope for my sake that he's not having one of those days."