WIMBLEDON, England — When The Match That Would Not End finally did, at 70-68 in the fifth set, after a record 11 hours, 5 minutes spread over three days, the customary handshake between opponents simply would not suffice.
So when John Isner of the United States won the longest match in tennis history and went to the net to greet Nicolas Mahut of France, who — for lack of a better word — lost Thursday at Wimbledon, Isner pulled Mahut in for a hug.
"You know," Isner told the crowd moments later, "it stinks someone had to lose."
Quite true.
There were 980 points overall, and Mahut won more, 502-478. There were 711 points in the fifth set, and Mahut won more, 365-346.
But Isner won the most important point of all: the last one, which happened to be a rather nondescript backhand winner down the line. It allowed Isner to break Mahut's serve for only the second time all match. That also was the only service break of the seemingly interminable fifth set, ending a run of 168 consecutive holds that began in the second set, all the way back on Tuesday.
Essentially, the match lasted as long as it did for two reasons: Neither man could break the other's serve, and Wimbledon does not employ a tiebreaker in the fifth set.
"Especially once the match got past, you know, 25-all, I wasn't really thinking," said Isner, who led the University of Georgia to the 2007 NCAA team tennis championship. "Hitting a serve and trying to hit a forehand winner is the only thing I was doing."
When it did conclude, Isner dropped down to the court, rolled on his back, and kicked his legs in the air. After the players briefly spoke, Mahut sat in his changeover chair, stared blankly ahead, then draped a purple-and-yellow Wimbledon towel over his head.
"It's really painful," Mahut said.
The 23rd seeded Isner's 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68 victory — yes, that's 70-68, not 7-6; sure reads like a typo, huh? — was merely a first-round match between two relatively unheralded players.
Yet it will be remembered far more distinctly, and discussed far more frequently, than many a Grand Slam final, not because of the stakes, certainly, or the quality of play, necessarily, but because of all the math involved.
"The numbers," Mahut said, "speak for themselves."
To wit: The 183 games and total time, both far beyond the existing records of 112 and 6:33. The 138 games and 8:11 in the fifth set alone, also records. Isner's 112 aces in the match, and Mahut's 103, both much higher than the old mark of 78. The combined 490 winners (Isner had more, 246-244) and only 91 unforced errors (Isner had more, 52-39).
"We played the greatest match ever, in the greatest place to play tennis," said Mahut, who is ranked 148th and went through qualifying. "I thought he would make a mistake. I waited for that moment, and it never came."
Instead, Mahut faltered — 46 hours, 39 minutes after the first point was played — and later acknowledged his abdominal muscles were aching.
As he basked in the crowd's standing ovation, Isner made sure to point in Mahut's direction and applaud, too. There were moments the night before when Isner wasn't sure he'd be standing at the end.
Mom wasn't so sure, either.
"At the end of yesterday, I was worried," Isner's mother, Karen, who sat in the stands, said Thursday. "He was kind of stumbling around, and I was kind of worried. My friends had to sort of hold me back, because I was kind of inclined to go on the court and go, 'OK. That's it. We're done here.'"
Seeded 23rd, Isner will be back on court for a fourth day in a row today to play his second-round match.
With the queen watching from the Royal Box, Murray defeated Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Murray, seeded fourth, is trying to become the first British player to win Wimbledon since the queen watched Virginia Wade win the women's final 33 years ago.
Shortly after the queen took her seat in the front row, Murray and Nieminen walked onto the court. They turned toward her and simultaneously bowed as the crowd roared.
The queen joined the applause when Murray closed out the win. Both players again bowed as they left the court, and they then met with the queen on a balcony overlooking the club's outer courts before she departed.
Over on Court 1, 2004 champion Maria Sharapova advanced to the third round by beating Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-1, 6-4. Seeded 16th, Sharapova won 20 of 23 points at the net.
The queen emerged from a car near the practice courts an hour before the day's first matches, and walked toward Centre Court along a walkway lined with spectators. When she reached the members' lawn, she met several players, including Roger Federer, Venus and Serena Williams and Andy Roddick, and former Wimbledon champions Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King.
"She said, 'Oh, you've been coming here a long time,' " King said. "And I said, 'Yes, 49 years in a row,' and she goes, 'Oh, that's wonderful.' ... It was really an honor and a big thrill for me, because it is on my bucket list."
Serena Williams greeted the queen with the curtsy she had been practicing. Roddick and Federer bowed. Spectators cheered as the queen then walked across a bridge to the clubhouse for lunch.
After she left Wimbledon, No. 3-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, No. 7 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 10 Flavia Pennetta and No. 14 Victoria Azarenka each notched straight-sets wins.
Robin Soderling, runner-up at the French Open the past two years, beat Marcel Granollers 7-5, 6-1, 6-4.
Longest games, matches
TENNIS — June 22-24, 2010: John Isner def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68 (11 hours, 5 minutes)
MLB (innings) — May 1, 1920: Brooklyn Robins 1, Boston Braves 1, 26 innings
MLB (time) — May 8, 1984: Chicago White Sox 7, Milwaukee Brewers 6, 25 innings (8:06)
NBA — January 6, 1951: Indianapolis Olympians 75, Rochester Royals 73 (6OT)
NFL — Dec. 25, 1971: Miami Dolphins 27, Kansas City Chiefs 24 (2OT) (22 minutes, 40 seconds of OT), AFC Divisional Playoff
NHL — March 24, 1936: Detroit Red Wings 1, Montreal Maroons 0 (7OT) (116:30 of OT), Stanley Cup semifinal
NCAA DIV. I MEN'S BASKETBALL — Dec. 21, 1981: Cincinnati 75, Bradley 73 (7OT)
NCAA DIV. I FOOTBALL — 7 OT, three times
— Associated Press
Longest games, matches
TENNIS — June 22-24, 2010: John Isner def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68 (11 hours, 5 minutes)
MLB (innings) — May 1, 1920: Brooklyn Robins 1, Boston Braves 1, 26 innings
MLB (time) — May 8, 1984: Chicago White Sox 7, Milwaukee Brewers 6, 25 innings (8:06)
NBA — January 6, 1951: Indianapolis Olympians 75, Rochester Royals 73 (6OT)
NFL — Dec. 25, 1971: Miami Dolphins 27, Kansas City Chiefs 24 (2OT) (22 minutes, 40 seconds of OT), AFC Divisional Playoff
NHL — March 24, 1936: Detroit Red Wings 1, Montreal Maroons 0 (7OT) (116:30 of OT), Stanley Cup semifinal
NCAA DIV. I MEN'S BASKETBALL — Dec. 21, 1981: Cincinnati 75, Bradley 73 (7OT)
NCAA DIV. I FOOTBALL — 7 OT, three times
— Associated Press