Wimbledon 2010

Longest tennis match in history

American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut became a part of the Wimbledon history after playing the longest recorded tennis match ever in the first round of the Championships. The match was played at the Court 18, and in the 11 hours long battle Isner won. His current ranking is 19, and Mahut 149 on the ATP list, and certainly no one could predict this outcome. This match also initiated interesting debate about changing rules in the fifth set


By MARIJA STOJANOVIĆ
from Belgrade, SERBIA


John Isner beat Nicolas Mahut in this match 3-2 (6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68). Since only U. S. Open has a deciding-set tiebreaker the spectators watched the match that lasted overall 11 hours and 5 minutes, and it was played for three days. According to the statistic of the Wimbledon official site there were 980 points of which Mahut had won 24 points more (502-478). It the fifth set only, players won 711 points, and again Mahut had won 19 points more (365-346). Both men now hold the record in aces in one match, previously held by Ivo Karlovic. Isner served 112, and Mahut 103 ace points.

The match began at 6:09 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22, but after the fourth set the match was suspended because of the darkness. On Wednesday, Isner and Mahut were playing until 59-59 in the final set, when the match was once more suspended. Although Isner had a break and a match point in the 20th game of the fifth set after Mahut double-faulted twice, Mahut served an ace and everything continued. After all, the day of the decision was Thursday when the match finally ended at 4:48 p.m. 3-2 for Isner.

Not many people can say that their names are written in Wimbledon history. According to the www.wimbledon.org although he lost, after the match Mahut said: "We played the greatest tennis match ever, in the greatest place to play tennis. I thought he would make a mistake. I waited for that moment, and it never came."

It was not hard just for the players. The chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani set in his chair for 11 hours. He explained that he couldn't think about anything else but the match. "When you are so focused and every point feels like a match point, you just don't even think about eating or needing the bathroom", said Lahyani after this match.

At the press conference, one day after the match Isner said that at one point he started playing instinctively. "I was just hitting a serve and trying to hit a forehand winner. I was so tired out there, couldn't focus, didn't know what I was going through. I just lost track of the score. After a certain point, maybe 25-all, I lost track of it, forgot about the score."

Both, Mahut and Isner including the chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani after the match received 10-inch Tipperary Crystal Bowl, which will be engraved and other gifts as a marking for a historical moment.

Isner lost his next match which he played with Thiemo de Bakker from Holland, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2. The match lasted 75 minutes, and unlike the previous, he didn't register a single ace. Tiredness caught up with him, and this was just all he could do after the marathon match with Mahut.

Consultant for business in sports at the company Bovan consulting Maja Barać Stojanović said for the WAVE magazine that this match can certainly enrich the careers and experience of both of the players. "The fact that a young tennis player played the longest match in history could be a great encouragement. When they become part of the interesting statistic, sports commentators around the world would bring up their names often and long after the match is over. It's not so important who won or lost, the most important thing is that they were participants of this historical moment that can only boast their careers."

Changing the rules?

The rules at Wimbledon were never changed since this tournament was established, in 1877. The private club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is responsible for these rules. These haven't been changed since, except the height of the net and posts, and the distance of the service line from the net. This match started one interesting debate, whether the rules of the fifth set should change. Sports director at the Tennis association of Serbia Aleksandar Bolić agrees and adds that a match like this could only be played on the lawn.

- It must have been really hard. It's hard just sitting and watching TV for 11 hours, let alone play tennis. Both players were serving fantastic. In those moments players were probably just trying to stay alive without any tactics what so ever. Also, this match showed that changing rules should be considered because the match could easily be played for a week. The overall result was that Isner lost his next match for little more than an hour - says Bolić for WAVE magazine.

Records

Among the famous names of Wimbledon winners are Pit Sampras of the United States who by the 2000 had won Wimbledon title seven times, and Martina Navratilova, also of the United States who had won this title nine times overall by the 1990, of which six were in succession. In 1985 Boris Becker became the youngest player who won this title and he was only 17.

The longest match before this one was in 2004 when Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement spent six hours and 33 minutes on the court at the French Open in 2004. But just Isner's and Mahut's fifth set, which lasted eigth hours and 11 minutes, was longer than this. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut have now set the record for the tennis players around the world. That is not something that should be taken lightly.



(Published: 12.07.2010.)