Stars upstaged by marathon match at Wimbledon _ no winner yet with 5th set at 59-59

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Stars upstaged by marathon match at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England — The top players took care of business on the big courts at Wimbledon, then found themselves immersed in the drama unfolding on little Court 18.

“Unreal,” Andy Roddick tweeted.

“Absolutely amazing,” Roger Federer said.

“It’s longer than a marathon,” Venus Williams said.

The match between John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and Nicolas Mahut of France lasted so long it was suspended because of darkness — for the second night in a row. After 10 hours of play, 881 points and 193 aces over two days, the fifth set was at 59-all.

It kept going because neither player could break the other.

“He’s serving fantastic. I’m serving fantastic,” Isner said. “That’s really all there is to it.”

The electronic scoreboard froze and then went blank, perhaps from the fatigue of trying keeping up with the longest match in the sport’s history. The Wimbledon website also lost track of the score.

Following an overnight suspension, the match resumed Wednesday at the start the fifth set. More than seven hours later, there was still no winner.

“Nothing like this will ever happen again,” Isner said. “Ever.”

They were to resume Thursday, still tucked away on Court 18, while Queen Elizabeth II was expected in the Royal Box on Centre Court for her first visit to Wimbledon since 1977.

Aside from the astounding marathon match, there were no big surprises on day 3 of the tournament. Federer endured some tense moments before beating qualifier Ilija Bozoljac, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (5), and three-time Wimbledon runner-up Roddick rallied past Michael Llodra 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (2).

Five-time champion Williams lost only 11 points on her serve and beat Ekaterina Makarova 6-0, 6-4. Belgians Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, both back at the All England Club after coming out of retirement, won and remained on course for a fourth-round meeting.

But the showdown of the fortnight has already been determined. It involves an American seeded 23rd and a Frenchman ranked 148th who made the field through qualifying.

Four times in the fifth set, Isner was one point from victory, but Mahut saved each match point. Still undecided, the match was by far the longest in terms of games or time. The fifth set alone took more than 7 hours, making it longer than the previous longest match of 6 hours, 33 minutes at the 2004 French Open.

The 6-foot-9 Isner had 98 aces, and Mahut had 95, with both totals eclipsing the previous high of 78. Isner had 218 winners, Mahut 217.

“He’s just a champ. We’re just fighting like we never did before,” Mahut said. “Someone has to win, so we’ll come back tomorrow and see who is going to win.”

Shortly after 9 p.m., with the score tied and the players talking with a Grand Slam supervisor about whether to continue, fans chanted, “We want more! We want more!” Then they screamed in unison, “Centre Court! Centre Court!” — where artificial lights would allow play to proceed.

The official decided to stop for the night, and spectators gave the players a standing ovation.

“I have almost no words anymore watching this,” Federer said. “It’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen and could imagine. I don’t know how their bodies must feel the next day, the next week, the next month. This is incredible tennis.”

Mahut and Isner began Wednesday at 2:04 p.m., on a sun-splashed court. When they finished, the moon was rising.

There were no breaks in the fifth set. Twice Isner accidentally hit Mahut with shots, once in the stomach and once in the chest, but the Frenchman persisted. He dove in vain for one shot, throwing his racket at it as he landed, burying his face in the turf. Isner smiled wearily and applauded his opponent’s effort.

Isner held a match point in the 20th game of the final set, but Mahut erased it with an ace. As shadows crept across the court, Isner had two more match points in the 66th game, but Mahut came through with a volley winner and a service winner.

In the last game of the day, Mahut double-faulted to give Isner yet another match point. The Frenchman erased it with an ace and won the game two points later to tie the score.

Again.

“I’m amazed that these guys are still standing,” three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe said. “You can throw out either one of them having any chance of going far in this tournament. But they’re always going to be in the history books.”