Tennis: Isner, Mahut in Wimbledon repeat

Isner and Mahut slogged their way into tennis history last year with the longest tennis match in history.

LONDON:

American John Isner and France's Nicolas Mahut were improbably drawn to face each other in Wimbledon's first round, in a repeat of their marathon 183-game epic at last year's championships.

Isner and Mahut slogged their way into tennis history last year when their first round duel became the longest match in tennis history, a gruelling 11-hour and five-minute game over three days. When it was over, Isner had clinched a 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68 first-round victory. Twelve months later and the two are set to do it all over again when Wimbledon gets under way next week. Isner is adamant that the records set in last year's match will never be broken. "It won't happen again," he said. "Not even come close."

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2011.