Two men who will be locked together for the rest of their sporting lives were separated by a backhand down the line at 4.48pm yesterday, 46 hours after they had started trading blows. A simple enough shot for the most part, but it left a mark on tennis that is unlikely to be expunged.
John Isner delivered it, a rapier to the heart of Nicolas Mahut for it brought to a close the match that left in the shade every other match played. Only 66 minutes were required to complete the marathon yesterday — bringing its total duration to 11hr 5min — and Andy Murray broke off from conducting an interview and burst into the media centre to make sure that he was there for its conclusion.
“It’s very difficult to describe,” Murray said. “What they did last night was incredible. I’m sure that physically it would have been difficult but mentally to concentrate for that long must have been so tough. I didn’t want it to be an anticlimax today. I hoped it kept going.”
Just long enough for Isner to prevail 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68 and go on to a meeting today with Thiemo De Bakker, of the Netherlands. The break of Mahut’s final service game brought to a close a run of 168 consecutive service holds. The previous break of serve had been in the second game of the second set when Mahut moved into a 2-0 lead.
Incredibly, the Frenchman was back on court a few hours after the marathon, partnering Arnaud Clément, his compatriot, against Colin Fleming and Kenneth Skupski. The British pair had won a first-set tie-break when bad light called a halt.
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Mahut, the world No 148, must now return to the twilight world of the ATP Challenger Tour in an attempt to get his ranking back to where it should be.
It was remarkable on Wednesday that, until the scores were locked at 58-all, neither man had asked for a toilet break. Nor had Mohamed Lahyani, the umpire. Lahyani’s perfect part in the production was recognised by a letter from Tim Phillips, the Wimbledon chairman, congratulating him on the quality of his officiating “throughout this extraordinary match”. He was presented with a set of cufflinks and a club tie at the end of it. “This is something for any umpire to cherish because Wimbledon is such a special place,” he said.
One wondered how he had been able to keep his focus for so long. “It was the intensity which was the difference, especially the longer the match went on,” Lahyani, a 44-year-old native Moroccan who was brought up in Sweden, said. “You had to treat every point as a match point. And it was important to keep the focus of the line judges sharp, too. They were coming back on after their hour’s break and their concentration had to be perfect right from the start. It was vital to help them.”
Even Isner asked Lahyani on Wednesday night how he managed to go that long in one spot — 6hr 48min for the first 118 games of the fifth set.
Lahyani has never umpired a grand-slam tournament final but he is the most recognisable face on the circuit. Three years ago, he was involved in a car accident on the way to the old Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, when he realised that his Chinese driver was dozing at the wheel as they approached a red light at some speed. He smacked the driver on the arm, the brakes were thrown on, but Lahyani suffered a whiplash injury and still requires treatment on his neck at most events. Not the best situation for someone watching a ball flying back and forth across a grass court for more than 11 hours.
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In the back of the car with him that day was Lars Graff, the Swiss umpire who was in the chair for Murray against Jarkko Nieminen yesterday, once again performing without blemish for 1hr 43min. He was the first to congratulate his pal yesterday.