John Isner(Page HS)-Nicolas Mahut Wimbledon Match Smashes Records

Dick Enberg, when he used to call tennis matches for NBC, would talk about breakfast at Wimbledon on July 4th and well, this time with former Page Pirate John Isner vs. Nicolas Mahut, it is breakfast, lunch and dinner at Wimbledon on June 22, 23 and 24th……

from tennisfanhouse.com:

Tennis has never seen anything like this. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut will finish battling out in the longest match in Open Era tennis history on Thursday. All sorts of records were broken on Court 18 at Wimbledon in what is an unfathomable match, spanning two days and now going on three.

The match resumed Wednesday at 2:05 p.m. (local time) and set the longest-match record at 5:45 p.m., long before play was finally again suspended at 9:10 p.m.

History is being made in this epic match for the ages. Play will pick up again Thursday with both players knotted up at 59-59 in the fifth set. The 23rd-seeded Isner took the fourth set on Tuesday before play was suspended at 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3). It is now 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 59-59.

On Tuesday immediately following the completion of the fourth set, play was stopped at approximately 9:07 p.m. local time. Isner won the fourth set in a tiebreak to level his match at two sets apiece. Despite both players pleading to continue play, the referee made the final decision to suspend play due to darkness, to be continued Wednesday. After battling it out for 118 games Wednesday, the players will return all square on Thursday.

The fifth set alone has taken more time than any completed match in the history of Open Era tennis, at seven hours and five minutes long.

“Nothing like this will ever happen again, ever,” Isner said. “I don’t know what to say. He’s serving fantastic, I’m serving fantastic, and that’s really all there is to it.”

Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement had previously held the record for the longest match in Open Era history by playing a six-hour, 33-minute contest over two days at the 2004 French Open. Santoro defeated Clement 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (7-5), 3-6, 16-14 at Roland Garros that year.

The first-round contest between Isner and Mahut at Wimbledon is already the longest match ever, by time and games, in the Open Era. It’s stretched a total of nine hours, 58 minutes and endured 163 games.

The total of 163 games has already bypassed the previous record of 112 games that Pancho Gonzalez needed to defeat Charlie Pasarell at Wimbledon in 1969. It also holds the record for most games in a set at 118 in the fifth.

Isner also served an Open Era record 98 aces.

The match produced a Wimbledon record of 193 combined aces between Isner and Mahut.

Both players outlasted the on-court scoreboards that blew out at Wimbledon. The boards froze when the players were tied at 47 games in the fifth set. Eventually both scoreboards had to be completely erased.

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5 thoughts on “John Isner(Page HS)-Nicolas Mahut Wimbledon Match Smashes Records

  1. Go John Go!. Drink your Milk, Say your prayers, take your vitamins and rest up for tomorrow

  2. Was fascinated by this yesterday. I’m curious how it plays out today. Will both players be cautious and just continue to rely on the serve to win points or will one player take some risks to hopefully get an advantage and win it early? It could be over in two games or go for another fifty.

  3. With both men having a chance to get rest over night or over day depending on the time, they have had time to recover….This thing is as much mental now, as it is physical….

    The mind is going to start asking the question somewhere along the line of, “do I really want to keep doing this” and the body might shoot back with a, “how long can I keep on doing this”????

    Very interesting and this feat is getting just as much buzz as the US World Cup soccer victory….

    The Band Plays On……..(Maybe a good tune at this time, might be that old one, “GO, GO JOHNNY, go-go-go….Johnny be good”…….

  4. Isner wins the fifth set 70-68. Amazing and good for him. Hope he has enough gas to do well in the second round.

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