Believe it or not, the Isner- Mahut sequel is going to be released the next week when Wimbledon gets underway on June 20. A rough chance of 1 in 141 became reality when John Isner found out from the first-round draw that his first round opponent in this year’s Wimbledon is none other than Nicolas Mahut, against whom he played the longest match in the history of tennis last year at these very same grasses. So Isner- Mahut not done yet? The duel between the two in last year’s Wimbledon lasted for 11 hours and 5 minutes, spanned over three days, broke multiple records and thus went on to become a cult classic in the sport. the Little known Court 18 grabbed became the center of attention of the world all of a sudden and the one question that hovered around everyone’s mind- When is the match going to end?
Tennis is a cruel sport and the marathon match of last year stands tall as testament to this fact. There can only be one winner in a match, at the expense of one of the players, no matter how good he/she is. Though Frenchman Mahut ended up on the losing side of that epic match, both the players ended up being losers when looking at the big picture which was the Wimbledon crown itself. John Isner, who won the marathon duel was so knackered at the end of the excruciating duel that he had nothing to give in his second round match. History does not remember anyone who wins a mere first round match. You have to win a Grand Slam to be remembered, right? But the rules of history were rewritten after the epic and no doubt, on looking back, Isner and Mahut would certainly take pride in being a part of a battle that will be remembered for the ages.
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Disheartened, disappointed
June 22, 2010- John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut. As the players dressed in traditional white entered the court, very few looked forward to the match. Who would have imagined that this match between two virtual unknowns would end up as the only match on the same court for three long days from June 22 to June 24! There are no tie breakers in the fifth set in Wimbledon like the French Open and Australian Open and this contributed to the match stretching for three days. Isner would take a one game lead, then Mahut would match him. This went on and on and on. The match became a serving contest and it began to rain aces on Court 18. The previous record for the longest set 20-18 ,by Mark Philippoussis and Sjeng Schalken in a 2000 third-round match- was nowhere to be seen as Mahut and Isner took a relentless battle to new levels. At 5:45 p.m. local time, it became the longest match ever played, surpassing the 6-hour 33-minute match between Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement at the 2004 French Open. Isner took a 39-38 lead with an ace that broke Ivo Karlovic’s all-time record of 78. Isner at 50-all faced the first break point on his serve which he saved through his massive serves that Mahut had no answers to. At 53-54, 0-30, Nicolas Mahut hit aces no.85, 86, 87 of the match to level at 54-all. He then had to save four match points, two in the 66th game and the last- in the 118th game. The match had already entered its 10th hour when the umpire Mohammad Lahyani suspended the game for the second day due to the approaching darkness. The third day, finally, put a full stop to the epic battle crowing the American as the winner as the scoreline read 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-3), 70-68!Absolutely ridiculous.
The matchup between the two unseeded players whose names adorn a new plaque on the outside wall of Court 18 was the talk of the draw ceremony this year eclipsing the other draw results including the ones in which the six time champion Roger Federer and the defending champion Rafael Nadal have been put in. Now that Mahut and Isner are set to meet each other again, can the re-match live upto the hype to which it has been proportioned to? Can the quality of serve and the number of aces and records be toppled by the same duo? Last year’s match was one of a kind and I don’t expect to see something of that epic proportion happening as soon as the very next year. Whether the match ends up as a serving duel, a monotonous one-sided affair or a tightly fought contest between the two history makers remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: the 2010 version will still remain as one of the greatest matches ever, etched in the history books and the minds of spectators who stood witness to the classic.
