It only took 11 hours and a little over three days but American John Isner finally defeated Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth and final set at Wimbledon.
The longest match in tennis history recorded a grand total of 980 points and was won on a backhand by Isner that got past Mahut, leading Isner to collapse to the ground in a mixture of exhaustion and pure excitement.
"I'm a little bit tired," he told ESPN with a slight smile after the match. "But when you play a match like this, in an atmosphere like this, you don't feel tired."
The fifth set alone lasted eight hours, 11 minutes and the game had to be postponed due to darkness two days in a row. The game shattered the previous record for longest game — a six hour, 33 minute game during the 2004 French Open — by at least five hours.
Over the course of the match, Isner earned 112 aces compared to Mahut's 103. Both destroyed the previous record of 78.
The two returned to action Thursday morning deadlocked at 59. The match continued for about an hour longer before Isner won the game by a final line of 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68.
