Incredible match going on at Wimbledon between two guys who likely won’t be heard of again once it’s over. This is their 15 minutes of fame and their making the most of it.
There is no tie-breaker in the 5th set at Wimbledon. The winner has to win by 2 games. Play in the match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut was suspended after 10 hours. They are in the 5th set and the score stands at 59 games apiece. That’s like playing a complete 5-set match, and then completing 2 more and starting a 4th. Watching the highlights, it appears to be a case of 2 guys simply refusing to give in, as opposed to 2 guys playing so terribly that neither can win. Both have saved multiple match points and break points to force the match to continue.
According to reports, other players like Federer and Roddick are watching the match in disbelief from the locker rooms. A small initial crowd steadily grew to the point of overflowing as word of what was transpiring got out.
Stuff like this is what makes sport so great. Every now and again a treat like this arises and fans get to see something they’ve never seen before and will likely never see again. We’re not even talking about the best players in the world here. It’s just two guys locked in a struggle, no quarter given or taken. It just doesn’t get much better than that.
UPDATE: Isner wins after another hour this morning- 70-68. Amazing.
FINAL UPDATE: Not surprisingly, Isner lost his second round match today, in rather pathetic fashion. The match lasted a whole 75 minutes. Still, he was part of something that will last much longer than this year’s final.