Longest fifth set at Wimbledon

Isner and Mahut smash Existing RecordsOn Thursday, 24th June 2010, John Isner (USA) beat Nicolas Mahut (France) on Court 18 at Wimbledon in the 1st Round. The score was 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-3), 70-68. The match lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes.

It was by far the longest match in grand slam history; the previous record was set at Roland Garros in the 1st Round of the 2004 French Open when Fabrice Santoro beat fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 16-14 in 6 hours, 33 minutes.

It was also officially the longest ever match at Wimbledon, beating the previous record of 6 hours, 9 minutes set by Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor in their 5-7, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 23-21 victory over Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry in 2006.

In addition, it was the grand slam match with by far the highest ever number of games, 183; the previous record had stood since the 1st Round of Wimbledon 1969 when Pancho Gonzalez beat Charlie Pasarell 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9, 112 games. This was 26 fewer games than in today's 5th set alone!

Doubles match concludes with longest fifth set everComment email PrintESPN.com news services

WIMBLEDON, England -- Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa worked hard to move into the third round of the men's doubles competition.

Melo and Sa, both from Brazil, beat Australian Paul Hanley and New Zealander Kevin Ullyett 5-7, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (7), 28-26 in the most games ever for a men's doubles match at Wimbledon.

The 102 games broke the previous record of 98, set in Gene Scott and Niki Pilic's 19-21, 12-10 6-4, 4-6, 9-7 victory over Cliff Richey and Torben Ulrich in 1966. AP Photo/Sang TanMarcelo Melo, left, and Andre Sa needed a Wimbledon-record 102 games to defeat Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett.

The 54-game fifth set broke the Wimbledon men's doubles record of 46 set by Heinz Guenthardt and Balazs Taroczy over Paul Annacone and Christo van Rensburg in 1985.

The longest final set in any event was set in 1985 when Michiel Schapers and Brenda Schultz teamed to beat Tom Nijssen and Andrea Temesvari in mixed doubles, 6-3, 5-7, 29-27.

At 5 hours, 58 minutes, the match was the second-longest in Wimbledon history, 11 minutes less than Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor's 5-7, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 23-21 victory over Simon Aspelin and Todd Perry last year.