It’s one of the most famous Wimbledon matches of all time, largely because it holds a record that will probably never be beaten. Not one, not two, but three days were needed to complete John Isner’s clash with Nicolas Mahut 15 years ago, making it the longest match in the illustrious history of the Championships.
A decade-and-a-half later, the tale of Isner vs Mahut is a well-told one. A tense and tight battle in the opening four sets had seen the scores level heading into the last. Few could’ve predicted what came next though, with the final tiebreaker finishing 70-68 in Isner’s favour.
The deciding set itself had to be split into two parts, with the duo having decided to call it a day with the scores locked at 59-59. By that point, they’d already been on court for 10 hours and when they returned the following day, Court 18 at Wimbledon had been flooded by an eager audience, including tennis icon John McEnroe. By the time Isner struck the winning backhand, there was a feeling of relief, not jubilation, as the contest drew to a close after 11 hours and five minutes.
As well as the longest-ever Wimbledon match, Isner vs Mahut also broke the record for the longest set and the most games played. Alongside the tennis-specific achievements, it was also estimated by The Guardian newspaper that both players had burned around 16,000 calories between them.
Speaking at the time, the victorious Isner said it was a shame that one of the players had to fall on the losing side, given how impressive their duel was. He said: “This crowd was fantastic. What more can you say? 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, somewhat glad the ordeal was over, added: “At this moment I’m just really thankful. It was amazing today. 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.”
The brows of the Wimbledon bigwigs were sweating one year later when the pair drew each other in the first round of the 2011 Championships. Thankfully for all involved Isner vs Mahut 2 lasted just over two hours, with the American triumphing for a second time.