6 HOURS AND 36 MINUTES!

Anderson finally sees off Isner in record-breaking semi-final which lasts...

JOHN ISNER hoped Donald Trump would find time in his itinerary to detour to Wimbledon to watch him. Heavens, the player from North Carolina, aided by his indomitable opponent Kevin Anderson, gave the 45th President every chance in the world to oblige him.

The longest semi-final ever staged in SW19, or indeed at any Grand Slam, was still going on as the shadows lengthened last night. The place had filled at lunchtime, emptied as Isner and Anderson went toe-to-toe in the warm afternoon sun, and filled again post-tea on a day that finally offered an absurd enjoyment for its masochistic endlessness.

It was the longest Centre Court match ever at the climax — for it did eventually come at 7.47pm — Anderson was victorious, staggering to first Wimbledon gentleman’s singles final. The two men hugged a tired hug after a match that lasted 6hr 36min.

Whether Anderson will have energy enough to turn the day of his dreams into a meaningful contest is another matter entirely.

‘Somebody had to win. John is such a great guy and I really feel for him,’ Anderson said. ‘I really hope this is a bit of a sign for the Grand Slams to change the rules. I really hope we can look at it and change. At the end you don’t even feel that great when you’ve won.’

We almost needed to exhume Norris McWhirter to chart this epic match. Certainly, gallows humour had set in long before it was over. George Osborne, the former chancellor, was pretty loyal through the long vigil. Not so all the members behind the Royal Box. Most wanted to see the next match, between Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, more than this slug-fest of the brutal servers.

But in fairness to both Isner and Anderson they were far more cultured, more rounded than that description suggests. They could play some decent tennis, and, at times set the pulse racing. But it was their serving that was most impressive: Isner managed 53 aces and Anderson 49.

Isner’s rocket comes from 11ft high as he extends his 6ft 10in frame and can reach 144mph. Anderson, only fractions slower and shorter at 6ft 8in, but perhaps the more rounded player, can bang them into the high-130mph range.

Would either of them ever lose a game, we wondered? The prospects of this were not good. Isner had not lost in 95 consecutive service games coming into yesterday. He was the only man ever to have reached the last four with such a one-sided statement behind his name since these feats were first recorded in 1992.

His record was preserved until the third set. Up until then only tiebreaks could separate the pair. But with the match two-hours and 27-minutes old, Anderson managed the previously impossible to go through 5-3 up. But Isner, spirited throughout, roared straight back to make it 5-4, and then it was on to a third tiebreak. That is how it was likely to be between these two old sparring partners.

They first played against each other in 2004 and here they were back together, Isner, at 33, and Anderson, at 32, both aiming for their first Wimbledon final.

Anderson, finalist at the US Open last year, came here buoyed by his victory over the Lord of these acres, Roger Federer.

It was always going to be tight, so closely matched were they. In the fourth set, Anderson broke, then Isner straight back, then Anderson again. Even looking at them, they were hard to tell apart. Both wore caps, only that Isner wore his back to front.

As time wore on into the deciding set, someone shouted: ‘Not 7068 again, John.’ He smiled, fair play to him. It was a reference to 2010, when his first-round match against Nicolas Mahut was played over three days — the longest tennis match ever in terms both of the number of games and duration. It lasted 11hrs 5mins and totalled 183 games.

This marathon was the next longest at the All England Club long before it ticked through the six-hour barrier. Stefan Edberg versus Michael Chang in the 1992 US Open semi-final was dwarfed: that only lasted 5hr 26mins.

The drama was enough to make you faint through exhaustion and that was just watching. At 17-17, Isner faced two break points but found the guns to escape.

And Anderson, lying on his backside, got a forehand back with his left hand and halfway up its throat, as he closed in on the crucial break at 25-24. He served out and that was that. At least Isner, who was married last year and will become a father in September, will be home in time for the labour.

He is a vocal supporter of Trump and hoped the big man would make it to see him.

The Donald will not now be breaking from running the free world to watch the South African — lion-hearted though he is — who beat his boy.