Nicolas Mahut, eliminated in the first round of the doubles tournament, says goodbye to Wimbledon, the scene of his most memorable match.
Nicolas Mahut's last Wimbledon appearance was short-lived. Facing off against the pair Theo Arribage (France) and Patrik Trhac (United States), the 43-year-old tennis player and his partner, Quentin Halys, lost in the first round of the doubles tournament, in 1 hour and 42 minutes (6-3, 3-6, 6-7). Nicolas Mahut, who announced his retirement from professional tennis at the end of the season, will therefore no longer be playing on the London grass, where he played the longest match in tennis history in 2010.
The man who started playing professional tennis in 2000 will, in a few months, have time to take a lucid look back on his long career. He will reflect on his four singles titles as well as his numerous doubles successes with his compatriot Pierres-Hugues Herbert, with whom he won all four Grand Slam tournaments. But he will also undoubtedly remember a few defeats. The most significant of these took place on the grass at Wimbledon, fifteen years ago.
On June 22, 2010, on court number 18, Nicolas Mahut, ranked 148th in the world and a qualifier, faced American John Isner, ranked 19th in the world and seeded 23rd . A match like any other, at first glance. But the encounter went down in legend as the longest match in the history of tennis, shattering a number of records (980 points, 180 games played, 216 aces).
68-70 in the fifth setWith the two men tied at two sets all after two hours and 54 minutes of play (4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-7), night had interrupted the match for the first time. The next day, June 23, a fifth decisive set began, which tipped into the irrational. At the time, the final set did not end in a tie-break, but as soon as one of the two players had a two-game lead. This final set stretched over two more days and lasted eight hours and eleven minutes.
After a cumulative eleven hours and five minutes, spread over three days, John Isner finally won 68-70 in the fifth set! The American collapsed on the grass, drunk with joy. Nicolas Mahut, for his part, looked like a marvelous loser.
"It's a match I'll never forget. For now, it's mostly painful, I lost this match. Tomorrow, I'll probably be proud. We both made history. We played the greatest match of all time in the best possible place, it was an honor," he confided as he left the court.
His opponent explained that this match would bind them for life: "I don't think I said five words to this guy before our match . From now on, when I see him at other tournaments, we can always share that."
Nicolas Mahut wrote a book on his defeat ( The Match of My Life, Editions Prolongations, 2011) and took time to come to terms with it, for fear that it would sum up, on its own, his long career. " With my doubles titles, I am no longer simply associated with this match," the player confided to Eurosport a few weeks ago.
After this historic encounter, the Grand Slam tournaments decided, in the event of a 6-6 tie in the fifth set, to decide between the players in a "super tie-break" (the first to 10 points, with a 2-point difference). The record of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut should therefore stand for a very long time.
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