Marathon Match Suspended at 59-all in 5th set

After playing through four grueling sets yesterday, the last thing that John Isner and Nicolas Mahut wanted to endure was a long fifth set. The fifth set began the same of the other four, with few break points and many power serves. It quickly became known that neither player was going to lose any time soon. The previous record for a set in the history of The Championships: Wimbledon, was a 20-18 fifth set won by Mark Philippoussis and Sjeng Schalken in 2000. The longest singles match in Wimbledon history before this epic battle between Mahut and Isner was a five-hour, twenty-eight minute slugfest between Greg Holmes and Todd Witsken. By the time that the fifth set reached 30-all, it was apparent that both players were beginning to feel fatigue setting in. Unfortunately, they had no idea that they would be on court for nearly sixty more games. Normally Court 18 is left in obscurity as the best players and best matches are typically found on the show courts. However, the longer that these two warriors battled, Court 18 became much like another Center Court as large contingents of people gathered outside of the fence. In the one-hundreth game of the fifth set, Isner faced his first break points of the fifth set. Down 53-54 and 0-30, Mahut served three consecutive aces to take control of the game and tie the set at 54-54. At 58-all, both players exited for a bathroom break, before playing two more games. At 59-all, Mahut explained to the referee that visuability was an issue and the match was halted. Isner had ripped 98 aces, while Mahut had fired 95 aces. Both of these men shattered the previous aces record of 78, set by Ivo Karlovic against Novak Djokovic. After six hours in the fifth set and exactly ten hours overall, the match was postponed and will resume on Thursday. The winner of this incredible affair will face Thiemo de Bakker, who himself played a 16-14 fifth set in order to advance. This match has set records for the longest set and longest match in Wimbledon, Grand Slam, and also in the history of tennis. After leaving Court 18, Isner remarked, "Nothing like this will after happen again. Ever." After watching this epic encounter, it is likely that nothing of this caliber will ever happen again. Sources Used: espn.com, wimbledon.org