20th Jun 2011 | Wimbledon
Isner V Mahut 2
It's the sequel that all fans of extraordinary endurance on a tennis court wanted to see.
If you had told Nicolas Mahut a year ago that he would have a miniature statue of himself on display at Wimbledon after losing a first round match to John Isner, he probably would have been somewhat bemused. But there it is, alongside one of his opponent, in memory of the longest match in the history of tennis. Now, in a bizarre twist of fate, the two men have been drawn together again in the first round for the ultimate re-match on Tuesday. Suffice to say, it will have to go some to beat the American’s 2010 victory that had 11 hours, 5 minutes of play spread over three days. The final score was 6-4 3-6 6-7 (7-9) 7-6(7-3) 70-68. It’s fair to say it could have gone either way.
As expected, the bookies are encouraging people to have a bit of fun with the re-match. Skybet offer 5/2 on the match going to a fifth set and 11/2 on it reaching a 12th game in a decider. VictorChandler go 20/1 on a fifth set having more than 20 games and WilliamHill offer 250/1 on the pair breaking their own record for the longest match. Can lightning strike twice?
Odds correct at time of publishing: 16:41 20th Jun, 2011 but subject to change
