9+ hour tennis match! (EDIT: Isner/Mahut ends on 3rd day; 11h 5m; 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68)

[bjkrautk]

http://atdhe.net/20580/watch-wimbledon-mahut-vs-isner

 

That's the live-stream for one of the matches at Wimbeldon. They're tied at 55-55 in the final set (since it's a grand slam event, there is no tiebreaker). The match started yesterday, and had to be suspended; they've been on the court for over 6 hours today.

 

This is the longest running tennis match in history.

[Menotti80]

insane. looks likely to be pushed to a 3rd day.

 

absolutely amazing. i wonder if they are tired... lol

[wallus]

They suspended it? Boo-urns

[And That]

I was trying to describe this to my wife and putting it in the context of a baseball game wouldn't it be something along the lines of at least a 40 inning baseball game? That's crazy.

[homer]

I'm not a huge tennis fan but this was on at the gym over lunch and I said to myself "Man these guys just cannot break serve!" which in retrospect is pretty much the understatement of the century.

[bjkrautk]

I was trying to describe this to my wife and putting it in the context of a baseball game wouldn't it be something along the lines of at least a 40 inning baseball game? That's crazy.

A normal tennis set would take - at most - 13 games (with one player winning the set 7-6).

The scoring in this match has gone 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 59-59.

 

It's not quite like a 40-inning game....27 would be closer to reality. Imagine a baseball game where the 9th inning lasts longer than two full-length baseball games. That's what this is like.

 

 

 

[Menotti80]

45 games in the first 4 sets plus 6-6 in the 5th set makes "regulation" 57 games.

 

106 "extra" games means about 17 extra innings, or a 26 inning game...

[Funketown]

I don't know, in terms of probability, I'd guess this is more like a 30-35 inning baseball game. Just thinking simply, there have been 59 times someone was up by one game, each of those 59 times the person trailing won the set.

 

(1/2)^59 = 1/576460752303423488

 

Now, my coin flip assumption might not be fair, but that is absolutely absurd. Historically, what are the odds of an inning where both teams score the same number of runs?

 

This is far longer than any tennis match ever, and it's not even close.

[sbrylski]

Anyone know what time this is scheduled to resume tomorrow?

[JoeHova]

Anyone know what time this is scheduled to resume tomorrow?

I heard 8:30 am but that might have been eastern time.

[burniebrewer]

Never thought I'd see the day in the USA where soccer and tennis were the two lead sports stories.

[berniebrewer4life]

First off, i don't care how well conditioned they are, these guys are gonna be SORE the next week or so. Here's the real question: is this great tennis, or two mediocre tennis players who just can't finish one another off?

[JoeHova]

I just saw a commercial on ESPNews that said the match would be concluded on ESPNU at 9:30 AM Eastern (so, 8:30 AM Central).

[JoeHova]

Here's the real question: is this great tennis, or two mediocre tennis players who just can't finish one another off?

Mostly the latter but that hasn't made it any less exciting yet.

[danzig6767]

I was trying to describe this to my wife and putting it in the context of a baseball game wouldn't it be something along the lines of at least a 40 inning baseball game? That's crazy.

A normal tennis set would take - at most - 13 games (with one player winning the set 7-6).

The scoring in this match has gone 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 59-59.

 

It's not quite like a 40-inning game....27 would be closer to reality. Imagine a baseball game where the 9th inning lasts longer than two full-length baseball games. That's what this is like.

 

 

I'm not much of a tennis fan so let me get this straight. These guys played 108 full games in the final set without a single guy breaking serve? When i saw the 59-59 i assumed it was tiebreaker points. Is the tiebreaker now gone in tennis then? Wow that is utter insanity.

[stoutdude04]

Here's the real question: is this great tennis, or two mediocre tennis players who just can't finish one another off?

Mostly the latter but that hasn't made it any less exciting yet.

Isner is the 23 seed. He should win without much of a hassle. Clearly he hasnt. I would say he us far from a mediocre player. He was an all american for 4 years I believe. He is a VERY good player but not a great player. Its very hard to break his serve because hes like 6 '9 or so. I would say he is far from a mediocre player but the pressure could very well be getting to him.

 

[bjkrautk]

I was trying to describe this to my wife and putting it in the context of a baseball game wouldn't it be something along the lines of at least a 40 inning baseball game? That's crazy.

A normal tennis set would take - at most - 13 games (with one player winning the set 7-6).

The scoring in this match has gone 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 59-59.

 

It's not quite like a 40-inning game....27 would be closer to reality. Imagine a baseball game where the 9th inning lasts longer than two full-length baseball games. That's what this is like.

 

 

I'm not much of a tennis fan so let me get this straight. These guys played 108 full games in the final set without a single guy breaking serve? When i saw the 59-59 i assumed it was tiebreaker points. Is the tiebreaker now gone in tennis then? Wow that is utter insanity.

Lifted from Wikipedia:

As of 2010, the Australian and French Opens, as well as Wimbledon, allow

tiebreakers for all sets except the final set in each match. Of the

four Grand Slam tournaments, only the U.S. Open utilizes the tiebreaker

during the fifth set. The 2010

Wimbledon first-round match between John

Isner and Nicolas Mahut became the longest match in

tennis history even prior to its conclusion, with the final set tied at

59–59 after play was halted on the match's second day.

As for breaking serve, after about 5 hours of play Isner was still serving 118 mph aces. Neither guy had a ton of range to track down the other's serve, which is why they both had 90+ aces when play was suspended.

[JoeHova]

Isner is the 23 seed... I would say he us far from a mediocre player.

I didn't mean that as an insult. It's just that there haven't been many rallies lately in the match. The tennis being played was not exactly stunning, although that was obviously at least partly because of fatigue. The skill on display is not very comparable to, say, the Federer/Roddick marathon final from last year.

 

 

Also, it appears that ESPN was lying because it's well past 8:30 central and the continuation of the match is nowhere to be found on ESPNU.

[JoeHova]

Now they're saying the guys will take the court at 9:30 AM Central (on ESPNU).

[jjfanec]

It has started back up. Isner is up 63 to 62. I jokingly said yesterday I wanted to see them get to 100. With the way these guys are dominating their serves maybe it could happen. My guess is 70 or so is the winning number. At some point one of these guys is going to pass out.

63 to 63 now as Mahut just won his serve without losing a point

[chrisisoutrunning]

70-68 Isner... just wow...

[JoeHova]

My guess is 70 or so is the winning number.

Good call.

[stoutdude04]

Joe I realize you didnt mean it to be an insult. Federer/Roddick is elite tennis. The way these two were serving was just insane.

[davego]

Bataan tennis death march.