John Isner bt Nicolas Mahut 6-4 3-6 6-7(7) 7-6 (3) 70-68
70-68 Mahut serve Isner earns and converts a match point to end this monumental match. Mahut approached the net of a poor approach spot and the American made no mistake with his passing shot up the inside of the left tramline. The match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes.
Nobody deserved to lose this and you have to feel desperately sorry for Mahut, who lost little caste in defeat. It takes two to create a match of this magnitude and the Frenchman and Isner must now share a special bond.
A presentation committee comprising of Anne Jones, Tim Henman and a number of officials have taken to the court. Tiger Tim & Co should really let Mahut return to the lockerroom, but ceremony matters here more than at any other grand slam.
Mahut will struggle to recover from this. He’s past his best and this was his chance to get his hands on a record that might never be broken. This was his chance to stamp his mark in the history books. He’s managed that of course, but not in the manner he would have wished for. That memento might end up in the Thames this evening.
69-68 Isner serve Mahut wins the first two point of Isner’s service game, but massive serving sees him live to fight another game and maybe even another day.
68-68 Mahut serve A demoralised France finally have a sportsman they can be proud of. I’ve supported Mahut with my heart and my hard-earned. Will the gamble be landed?
68-67 Isner serve ‘Anything you can do, I can do better’ Isner matches his opponent by holding to love.
67-67 Mahut serve Mahut begins with a superb forehand winner from behind the baseline and mixs up volleys and baseline play to hold to love.
67-66 Isner serve Isner holds easily. Think I’ve discovered his tactics in this set - hold your serve, don’t try to break your opponent, and he’ll eventually lose the will to live.
66-66 Mahut serve Isner is offering precious little when returning as Mahut holds to love. It almost looks like the American is waiting for an imanginary tie-break that can never materialise.
66-65 Isner serve Isner holds to 15, but the game was most noteworthy for the sublime cross-court backhand of Mahut.
65-65 Mahut serve Mahut does the necessary, and then some. The serve-volley combo to win the fourth game of the match was particularly taking as he launched himself into orbit before hammering his angled effort home.
65-64 Isner serve The giant American wins the opening point of the game, but then concedes the next point as he drives his shot long. A fine forehand and two giant serves wraps up the 129th game of the final set.
64-64 Mahut serve The French player holds to 15. The obsequious Greg Rusedski rightly believes this contest will go down as the match of the year - unless Andy Murray wins Wimbledon. Back to Murray Mound with you, Greg.
64-63 Isner serve The weary Isner doesn’t look long for this world, let alone this match. But the dogged American drops just one point in his latest service game.
63-63 Mahut serve Mahut holds to love.
63-62 Isner serve New balls makes Isner’s task considerably easier but he still drops two points on serve. Our American zombie’s poor dead eyes will offer encouragement to a hungry Frenchman.
62-62 Mahut serve The ability to rehydrate quickly and load up on carbs overnight will have a major say on the outcome. Mahut seems the more sprightly of the two and his 6ft3in frame is much easier to haul around the court than Isner’s almost crippling 6ft9in carcass. Mahut has also reached the 100-ace milestone in what was an ultra-impressive hold.
62-61 Isner serve Isner holds to 15. A number of boorish Americans in the crowd are becoming increasingly vocal. There’s no place for ‘get in the hole’ or any other such crass words of encouragement at the All England Club.
61-61 Mahut serve Isner’s volley win the opening point of the game, but the American’s chances are obliterated by French resistance that produces three superb aces.
61-60 Isner serve Commentator’s curse strikes as Isner holds to love. The metronomic Isner serve is cranking up again. Could be in for a long day. I’ve holidays booked for August, hmm…
60-60 Mahut serve The Mahut serve is also massive. It may lack the venom of Isner’s, but his all-round game is more impressive. His cultured backhand is a particularly attractive shot. Hard to believe Isner is so much higher in the world rankings. Allez Mahut!
60-59 Isner serve Isner has now recorded a century of aces in this contest with his relentless booming serve, but much like last night Mahut is making an impact as he brings the American to deuce. Isner looks stiff as a board in the early stages, while Mahut seems light as a feather.
Real men don’t eat quiche, but they do play tennis. The remarkable battle of wills which started on Monday afternoon between two unremarkable players has recommenced on the SW19 car park better known as Court 18. Tune in for live action.
The sporting behemoth that is the World Cup will overshadow many of the other major highlights of the summer, but Paraguay v New Zealand and Slovakia v Italy can’t contend with this slugfest.
Your footballer, much like athletes in all team spirits, can hide and go missing but these gladiators have nowhere to hide at the All England club. The upper-middle glasses are demanding a quick kill.
The score was 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-6 (3), 59-59 at the start of play.
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Report: Isner prevails in Wimbledon epic
John Isner finally brought an end to the longest match in tennis history today as he broke the serve of Nicolas Mahut to secure a 70-68 victory in the deciding set of their first-round Wimbledon encounter.
After 11 hours and five minutes on Court 18 and with a raft of records having been broken, 23rd seed Isner found two crucial winners to break the resistance of the Frenchman in the 138th game of a remarkable set.
The pair first walked on court on Tuesday, and Isner - who hit 112 aces in the match - secured a 6-4 3-6 6-7 (7/9) 7-6 (7/3) 70-68 triumph to bring the curtain down on one of the most remarkable episodes in the history of the All England Club.
Upon the completion of the match - and a final set that lasted eight hours and 11 minutes - the All England Club announced the two players and match umpire were to be presented with awards to mark their achievement.
Both players appeared to be spent forces at the end of the gruelling encounter, but received their mementoes with good grace before being asked to reflect on the match.
Isner said of his vanquished opponent: ‘The guy's an absolute warrior. It stinks someone had to lose.
‘To share this with him was an absolute honour. Maybe we'll meet again somewhere down the road and it won't be 70-68.’
Mahut was gracious in defeat, admitting that despite the gruelling nature of the contest it had been a tussle savoured by both men.
‘At this moment I'm just really thankful. It was amazing today,’ Mahut said.
‘John deserved to win. He served unbelievable, he's a champion.
‘It was really an honour to play the greatest match ever at the greatest place for tennis. It was very long but I think we both enjoyed it.’
Just after 3.30pm Isner and Nicolas Mahut returned for part three of their epic clash before an expectant capacity crowd.
The profiles of both players have shot through the roof as a result of their exploits in this match, which began on Tuesday evening and reached 59-59 before bad light forced them off for the second night running yesterday.
The longest match in tennis history has captured the imagination of not only this corner of south-west London but also the wider world, and excitement was high as both players returned.
Wimbledon legend John McEnroe was one of the lucky few with a seat inside Court 18, while hundreds more filled every possible vantage point around the arena to catch a glimpse of the action.
Isner, the more reluctant of the two players to come off court last night in the fading light, began today with a double fault - his 10th of the match.
He quickly gathered his composure to hold, but not before Mahut had taken him to deuce. The Frenchman then held to love to signal that perhaps he had benefited more from a night's rest.
The 6ft 9in Isner passed a century of aces in the next game as he moved 61-60 ahead. Mahut quickly passed the same milestone himself as the battle for supremacy in that much vaunted category remained heated.
With the scoreboard humming away happily today after suffering a breakdown yesterday, no-one was surprised when it read 64-64 after 10 games. Mahut had faced the greater pressure of the two players by dint of serving second to Isner in the final set, and was therefore aware that any break point against him would be a match point.
An athletic overhead smash in the 130th game typified the freshness which world number 148 Mahut demonstrated throughout, a trait in sharp contrast to the slower, more loping gait of his opponent.
As eight hours elapsed in the final set alone and the overall time of the match touched 11 hours, Mahut moved 30-0 ahead on the Isner serve to raise excitement levels in and around the arena.
But ace number 112 by Isner steadied any jitters before another thumping serve was too hot for Mahut to handle as the American got back on level terms.
Isner duly rattled off the next two points as the pair remained without a break-point chance between them through 19 games.
But that all changed dramatically in the next as Isner played a solid game before bringing up his fifth match point against the Mahut serve with a superb forehand down the line.
With the court holding its collective breath, Mahut fired down another thumping serve but Isner kept the ball alive.
Mahut tried to put it away but Isner read the shot and planted his feet before unloading a backhand winner down the line to clinch the final set and a second-round meeting with Thiemo de Bakker.
The pair embraced warmly at the net but neither betrayed much in the way of emotion at the end of a match from which it was cruel there had to be a loser.
The match's place in the pantheon of great tennis moments will be assured by a string of records which are unlikely to ever be surpassed.
Shortly before 6pm last night, the match became the longest in professional tennis history, beating the previous mark of six hours and 33 minutes set by Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement at the French Open in 2004.
At 11 hours and five minutes, it sets a new mark for the longest match of any type at SW19, far exceeding the six hours and nine minutes for a 2006 men's doubles quarter-final between Todd Perry/Simon Aspelin and Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor.
With the final set running to 138 games, it comfortably outstripped the previous highest mark in the men's singles competition at SW19 of 46, set by Nicola Pietrangeli and Nikola Pilic in 1962 and equalled by Pancho Gonzales and Charlie Pasarell in 1969.
And, with 183 games played in total, Isner and Mahut also comfortably surpassed the previous best mark of 112 set in the encounter between Gonzales and Pasarell 41 years ago, before the introduction of tie-breaks.
The match also set a new record for aces in a single encounter.
Isner, with 112, and Mahut, with 103, both improved on the previous benchmark held by Ivo Karlovic, who hit 78 in a Davis Cup encounter last year. And the duo's combined total of 215 aces is also a new record, breaking the previous mark of 96 set by Karlovic and Radek Stepanek.
Isner recalled how he felt when the players finished tied at 59-59 last night.
‘When I left the match I really thought it was a dream,’ he said.
‘I went back, didn't sleep great, only slept for about four hours.
‘Yesterday I didn't know what I was thinking out there. Especially when it got to about 25-all.
‘Going out there today I had the feeling it wasn't going to he anything like it was yesterday.’
Reflecting on the match as a whole, he said: ‘We both served really well and that's the main thing. Even in that case I couldn't imagine it going past 20-all.
‘I guess it was just meant to be.
‘In a way I'm glad it happened.
‘I'm tired but it was nice to be a part of that match.’
