Anderson ‘escapes’ semifinal marathon

LONDON• To say that Kevin Anderson won this interminable Wimbledon semifinal and that John Isner lost it didn’t really seem fair. To Anderson, anyway.

They had played on and on, through 61/2 hours of ho-hum hold after ho-hum hold, during the secondlongest match in the history of a tournament that began in 1877, all the way until the never-ending serving marathon did, finally, end at 26-24 in the fifth set Friday with Anderson claiming the most important of the 569 points — the last one.

So when Anderson left Centre Court, well aware his 7-6 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-7 (9), 6-4, 26-24 victory earned him the chance to win his first Grand Slam title at age 32, the South African said: “At the end, you feel like this is a draw between the two of us.”

He continued: “John’s such a great guy, and I really feel for him, because if I’d been on the opposite side, I don’t know how you can take that, playing for so long and coming up short.”

Only one match at Wimbledon lasted longer: Isner’s 2010 first-round victory over Nicolas Mahut, the longest match in tennis history. It went more than 11 hours over three days and finished 70-68 in the fifth on Court 18, which now bears a plaque commemorating it.

Friday’s fifth set wasn’t quite as long, but still, it lasted nearly three hours as the

YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO FIGHT IN EVERY SINGLE MOMENT.

semifinal became a test of endurance more than skill.

“He stayed the course incredibly well,” said the No. 9 seed Isner, a 33-year-old American playing in his first major semifinal. “Just disappointed to lose. I was pretty close to making a Grand Slam final and it didn’t happen.”

Also Friday, the lone Canadian remaining at Wimbledon, Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and partner Yifan Xu of China, seeded sixth, lost 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to No. 12 seeds Nicole Melichar of the U.S., and Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic in women’s doubles semifinal action. Dabrowski and Xu were up a break at 4-2 in the third set, but could not hold on.

In his match, Anderson finally earned the must-have, go-ahead service break with the help of a point in which the right-hander tumbled to his backside, scrambled back to his feet and hit a shot lefty.

“That definitely brings a smile to my face,” Anderson said. “At that stage, you’re just trying to fight in every single moment, and I was like, ‘Just get up!”’

The No. 8 seed Anderson eliminated eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in a 13-11 fifth set in the quarter-finals Wednesday.

Between that and the energy-sapper against Isner, it’s hard to imagine how Anderson will have much left for Sunday’s final, his second at a major.

Anderson was the runnerup to Rafael Nadal at last year’s U.S. Open. There could be a rematch now. Anderson’s opponent for the title will be Nadal or Novak Djokovic, whose semifinal match was suspended after three sets with Djokovic up 6-4, 3-6, 7-6. It will resume Saturday at 1 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), ahead of the women’s final between Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber. That final will not start before 2 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET).

Wimbledon doesn’t use tiebreakers in the fifth set for men, or third set for women, so there’s nothing to prevent a match from continuing ad infinitum. Both Isner and Anderson said they’d like to see that change.

“It’s long overdue,” said Isner, who suggested changing the rule to using a tiebreaker at 12-all in the fifth set. “I’m a big part of that, and a big part of this discussion, of course.”

At one point in the fifth set, a spectator shouted, “Come on, guys! We want to see Rafa!”

The 6-foot-8 Anderson and 6-foot-10 Isner go way back, to their college days, Isner at Georgia, Anderson at Illinois. In the pros, Isner had won 8 of 11 previous matchups. But this one was as close as can be. There wasn’t a whole lot of intrigue, or momentum shifts. Not a tremendous amount of memorable shotmaking, either, save for some impressive return winners.

The serving? Well, that was something else. Isner pounded his at up to 142 mph; Anderson reached 136 mph. They combined for 102 aces: 53 by Isner, 49 by Anderson.

“The effort they both put in and the performance and the guts, the way they competed — a lot to be proud of,” said Justin Gimelstob, one of Isner’s coaches.

“I feel pretty terrible,” Isner said afterward. “My left heel is killing me and I have an awful blister on my right foot.”