| John Isner (23) vs. Nicolas Mahut (Q) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 22–24 June 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Tournament | Wimbledon | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | London | ||||||||||||||||||
| Previous head-to-head results | |||||||||||||||||||
| Mahut 1–0 Isner[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| John Isner | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nicolas Mahut | |||||||||||||||||||
The Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships is the longest match in tennis history, measured both by time and number of games. In the Gentlemen's Singles tournament first round, the American 23rd seed John Isner defeated the French qualifier Nicolas Mahut after 11 hours, 5 minutes of play over three days, with a final score of 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7–9), 7–6(7–3), 70–68 for a total of 183 games.
The match began at 6:13 pm British Summer Time (17:13 UTC) on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. At 9:07 pm, due to fading light, play was suspended at two sets all. After resuming on Wednesday, June 23 at 2:05 pm, the record for longest match was broken at 5:45 pm. The light faded again, and so play was suspended at 9:10 pm, with the final set tied at 59 games all. Play resumed at 3:43 pm on Thursday, June 24, and Isner won at 4:48 pm, the final set having lasted 8 hours, 11 minutes.
Both players broke numerous Wimbledon and tennis records, including each serving over 100 aces, with the match being referred to as "the endless match".[2]
Contents |
The match took place during the 2010 edition of the 13-day Wimbledon Championships, held every June and July. Mahut, who was not ranked high enough to qualify for the tournament automatically, earned his place by winning in the qualifying pre-tournament, where he was seeded 27th. He played three qualification rounds, beating Frank Dancevic 6–3, 6–0, in the first round, then Alex Bogdanovic 3–6, 6–3, 24–22, and finally Stefan Koubek in five sets, 6–7(8), 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4.[3]
Having played through the qualifying stage, Mahut was drawn against Isner in the first round of Gentlemen's Singles. Their match was scheduled for Court 18.
The match started on the tournament's second day. After four sets, it was halted due to darkness, with the score at two sets each.[4] Resuming on 23 June, it became the longest match ever. The match was suspended for a second time because of darkness on the evening of June 23 at 59–59 in the fifth set despite chants of "We want more, we want more" from the onlooking spectators.[5]
Isner drank a "recovery shake" and took an ice bath. Fellow American Andy Roddick brought take-out food for him and his coach, including "three boxes of pizza, all sorts of chicken and mashed potatoes"; Isner said later that he was so hungry he could have eaten "12 Big Macs",[6] but reported that drinking coconut water helped him rehydrate and avoid cramping as he had experienced in the past.[7] He slept for less than four hours before arising. Mahut also slept for only a few hours, and had a cold bath and a massage.[6] The next morning, the BBC reported that Mahut had been practising and Andy Murray informed them that Isner had been on a treadmill before play resumed.
The match was resumed on June 24, and both players continued to dominate their service games. At 68–69, 30–15, Mahut netted a drop shot that would likely have won the point. Isner, far back in the court at the time, later said that he wouldn't have had the energy to chase after that shot. On the next point, Isner passed Mahut at the net with a difficult inside-out forehand from the middle of the court that landed just inside the line and the service box. This brought up Isner's fifth match point (and the first in the day) and his 14th break point of the match, which he converted with a down-the-line backhand passing shot. Thus, after 65 minutes of play on the 3rd day of the match, Isner won the deciding final set, 70–68.
The chair umpire throughout the match was the Swedish official Mohamed Lahyani.[8] Lahyani said afterwards that he was so "gripped by the amazing match" that his concentration stayed solid and he did not think about eating or going to the toilet.[9] On the second day of the match, two groups of 14 linespeople and four groups of 28 ballboys and ballgirls were used in a rotation.[10] At the end of the match, the umpire announced the score incorrectly, accidentally switching the scores of the two tie-break sets.[11]
On the second day of play, the courtside scoreboard stood still at 47–47 and later went dark. IBM programmers said it was only programmed to go to 47–47 but would be fixed by the next day.[10] The online scoreboard at the official website lasted slightly longer: At 50–50 it was reset to 0–0. Users were asked to "please add 50 to the Isner/Mahut game score".[12] An IBM programmer worked on the scoring system until 11:45 pm to accommodate the match's scores for the next day, although it would have again malfunctioned had the match gone beyond 25 more games.[13]
Immediately after the match, both players and the umpire were presented with a crystal bowl and champagne flutes by Tim Henman and Ann Haydon-Jones on behalf of the All England Club, as special recognition of the game. The players were then interviewed on court by John Inverdale, before a photocall for the press alongside one of the two Court 18 scoreboards showing the score.[14] Mahut subsequently donated memorabilia from the match for display at the International Tennis Hall of Fame's Museum in Newport, Rhode Island.[15]
On 14 July Isner and Mahut were jointly awarded the 2010 ESPY Award for "Best Record-Breaking Performance", beating fellow nominees Roger Federer and Usain Bolt. Isner accepted the award in Los Angeles on behalf of both men.[16]
In addition, the AELTC placed a plaque commerating the match at Court 18.[17] Time magazine named this match one of the Top 10 Sports Moments of 2010.[18]
As the winner, Isner advanced to the second round where he played Thiemo de Bakker on June 25 at 12 pm on Court 5.[19] The match was originally scheduled for June 24, but it was postponed due to the length of Isner's first round match against Mahut. De Bakker also had a lengthy first round match against Santiago Giraldo, winning by a score of 16–14 in the fifth set, but unlike Isner had an additional day off prior to his second round match. Isner lost to De Bakker 0–6, 3–6, 2–6 in just 74 minutes, the shortest men's Wimbledon match at that point in 2010,[20] without serving a single ace.[21] Isner was visibly exhausted and required medical treatment for neck and shoulder problems throughout the match.[22][23]
Isner was also due to play a doubles match with his partner Sam Querrey on June 24 (against Michał Przysiężny and Dudi Sela), but it was postponed to June 25. Isner's doubles match was tentatively scheduled as the second match of that day on Court 19 following another men's doubles match; however, they withdrew from the doubles because Isner had a blister on his toe. After being eliminated from the tournament, Isner said, "I'll watch sports, I'll take in the World Cup, I'll go fishing, I'll do whatever. Just anything away from the tennis court."[23]
As for Mahut, his doubles match with partner Arnaud Clément against Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski started late in the evening on June 24 (also on Court 18); the match was suspended after Mahut and Clément lost the first set. On June 25, Mahut/Clément – Fleming/Skupski was scheduled as the fourth match on Court 18 because Clément had a third-round singles match on Centre Court against Roger Federer.[24] Because the match between Daniel Brands and Victor Hănescu lasted almost 3 hours, 30 minutes and ended around 8:45 pm local time,[25] the doubles match was postponed again; it was re-scheduled as the first match on Court 14 on June 26.[26] On resumption, Fleming/Skupski defeated Mahut/Clément, 7–6, 6–4, 3–6, 7–6.
In terms of subsequent meetings between the two; their next meeting after the match came at the ITF world mixed team championships, 2011 Hopman Cup exhibition in Perth. The American broke in the opening game to record a straight sets win.[27] In a twist of fate the pair's first competitive rematch happened at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, again in the first round.[28] In that match, held on the new Court No. 3, Isner defeated Mahut in straight sets 7–6, 6–2, 7–6 in 2 hours and 3 minutes.
Former players and commentators have called the match historic and unlikely to happen again; many also praised both participants. John McEnroe said, "This is the greatest advertisement for our sport. It makes me proud to be a part of it. We often don't get the respect we deserve in tennis for the athletic demands it places on players, but this should push that respect way up".[29]
Other players, former players, officials, media commentators and fans also praised the behaviour of both players. Roger Federer said of the match, "It's so impressive to see. I mean, I was watching this. I don't know if I was crying or laughing. It was too much".[30] Federer also added, "This is absolutely amazing. [...] This is beyond anything".[30] Novak Djokovic extolled both players, saying, "You have to give them credit, both of them. Whoever wins today, I think both of them are winners".[30]
Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim said that the victory might give Isner a self-esteem boost.[31] McEnroe speculated, however, that the match might have shortened Isner and Mahut's careers by six months.[23] A sports surgeon said the players had risked dehydration, hyperthermia, and kidney damage during the long match, and that one or both might suffer "some sort of injury or persistent problem over the next six months [...] shoulder problems, tendonitis, and recurrent knee problems", as well as the inability to "get into a groove" mentally for up to a year.[32]
The chorus of Dan Bern's song about the match concludes with the scores of the five sets: "six-four, three-six, six-seven, seven-six, seventy-sixtyeight". An a capella performance of "Isner & Mahut" recorded in 2010 appears on Bern's album "Live in New York". [33]
The match set several tennis records, including:
The previous record for games played in a match was the 122-game 1973 Davis Cup match in which the United States team of Stan Smith and Erik Van Dillen defeated the Chile team of Patricio Cornejo and Jaime Fillol 7–9, 37–39, 8–6, 6–1, 6–3.[38] The previous record for most games in a singles match was the 112-game 1969 match in which Pancho Gonzales defeated Charlie Pasarell 22–24, 1–6, 16–14, 6–3, 11–9, also in the first round at Wimbledon.[39] The singles record since the introduction of the tie-break was the 2003 Australian Open quarter-final match, in which Andy Roddick and Younes El Aynaoui played 83 games; Roddick won 4–6, 7–6(5), 4–6, 6–4, 21–19.[40]
The previous official record for duration was set at the 2004 French Open when Fabrice Santoro defeated Arnaud Clément 6–4, 6–3, 6–7(5), 3–6, 16–14, in 6 hours, 33 minutes.[41] The unofficial record of 6 hours, 40 minutes, was set on 25 February 2009, when Chris Eaton defeated James Ward 6–3, 6–2, 6–7(3), 2–6, 21–19 in a playoff match to represent the Great Britain Davis Cup team in a 2009 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round tie versus Ukraine.[42] Isner-Mahut's fifth set alone lasted some 90 minutes longer than the previous longest match. Indeed, even that portion of the fifth set played on the second day was about half an hour longer than the previous longest match, so it also broke the record for the longest play in a single day.
John Isner served his 79th ace to take the final set to 39–38 with serve.[43] This surpassed Ivo Karlović's 78 aces that he served on 18 September 2009 in a Davis Cup match against Radek Štěpánek.[44] In all, Isner served 113 aces; Mahut also surpassed the previous record with 103 aces.
The length of the match exceeded the total playing time of Serena Williams in every round combined in winning the previous year's Ladies Wimbledon title. She played for less than ten hours in the entire tournament.[45]
In the United Kingdom, the match was featured live in part on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC HD, which were all the television channels which the BBC used to cover Wimbledon. The match was broadcast live in its entirety on the BBC Red Button.
Commentating throughout were Ronald McIntosh and Greg Rusedski. It was McIntosh's first ever Wimbledon match to commentate on.[46]
In the United States, ESPN and sibling channel ESPN2 telecast the match.
| 1 32 mins |
2 29 mins |
3 49 mins |
4 64 mins |
5 491 mins |
|
| John Isner (23) | 6 | 3 | 67 | 77 | 70 |
| Nicolas Mahut (Q) | 4 | 6 | 79 | 63 | 68 |
All times in British Summer Time (UTC+1)[47]
| Isner | Statistic | Mahut |
|---|---|---|
| 361 of 491 = 74% | 1st serve % | 328 of 489 = 67% |
| 10 | Double faults | 21 |
| 52 | Unforced errors | 39 |
| 292 of 361 = 81% | Winning % on 1st serve | 284 of 328 = 87% |
| 82 of 130 = 63% | Winning % on 2nd serve | 101 of 161 = 63% |
| 246 | Winners | 244 |
| 104 of 489 = 21% | Receiving points won | 117 of 491 = 24% |
| 2 of 14 = 14% | Break point conversions | 1 of 3 = 33% |
| 97 of 144 = 67% | Net approaches | 111 of 155 = 72% |
| 478 | Total points | 502 |
| 92 | Games won | 91 |
| 113 | Aces | 103 |
| 143 mph | Fastest serve speed | 128 mph |
| 123 mph | Average 1st serve speed | 118 mph |
| 112 mph | Average 2nd serve speed | 101 mph |
| Total points include double faults by the opponent. Unforced errors include double faults. | ||