Wimbledon:The longest match tennis has ever seen finally came to an end when John Isner beat overcame Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set of their titanic battle at Wimbledon.
Isner triumphed 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68 on Wimbledon's Court 18 in a match which lasted 11 hours and five minutes. The final set alone lasted eight a remarkable hours and 11 minutes.
Isner seed ended the contest with a backhand passing shot after another hour of play on Court 18 after the match had resumed at 59-59 in the deciding set. It was stopped by bad light late yesterday evening.
"I am a little bit tired," an elated Isner admitted in an on-court interview. "When you play a match like this with an atmosphere like this you don't feel tired. This crowd was fantastic.
"The guy (Mahut) is an absolute warrior. I want to share this day with him, it was an absolute honour. I wish him the best and see him somewhere down the road and it won't go 70-68."
Isner completed his win in front of a huge crowd with every vantage point taken on Court 18. He fell to the ground in disbelief and after the two players hugged at the net Mahut sunk into his chair and covered his head with his towel.
The previous longest match was the six hours 33 minutes epic between Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement at the 2004 French Open.