The legendary Wimbledon match is now 11 years old. Isner and Mahut played for 3 days

To this day, the longest match in tennis history was played in London. A match that ended two days later than it began. A match in which perhaps everyone was waiting for it to end. A match that finally stopped the clock at 11 hours and 5 minutes.

Nicolas Mahut had already played three qualifying matches that were certainly not easy. Already in the second qualifying round, the Frenchman had to go into that extra time in the third set against Alex Bogdanovic, which he eventually won by 24::22 on games.

Moreover, he also played a long match in the final round of the main competition, beating Stefan Koubek only in the fifth set. If we look at the result of the match, we see that the then 27th seeded qualifier had to turn the score from 0::2 to sets. After two tough battles, Mahut was seeded 23rd by John Isner for the first round.

The match started on June 22, 2010 at 18:18 London time. Both players managed to play the first 4 sets in the dark. They parted just after 9 p.m., with the score on the scoreboard reading Mahut vs Isner 4::6, 6::3, 7::6 (7), 6::7 (3). Few expected that the next day would not be played.

at 5 minutes past 2 p.m. on Wednesday the 23rd, the Frenchman and the American returned to the court to begin the fifth set. At 6::6, the match began its continuation according to the then current Wimbledon rules. And the continuation still had no end. Both players got to the classic one-game count as the fifth set was 15::15, 30::30 and 40::40.

But for a long time no one could capture that advantage for themselves. When the match was suspended again at 59::59, many probably thought that this would never end. The match, which ultimately offered a whopping 216 aces, came to an end on Court 18 after 11 hours and 5 minutes.

John Isner won the fifth set by 70 to 68. The last set alone lasted 8 hours and 11 minutes. In this day and age, when the rules are adjusted at virtually all Grand Slams, it is almost impossible to top this performance from Great Britain.

The only tournament where it would theoretically be possible is Roland Garros, where the two-game difference-to-decision rule still applies. Even so, the match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut will forever be etched in the history of the sport of tennis.

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