AFTER 6-HOUR ANDERSON-ISNER SEMIFINAL, CALLS RAMP UP FOR FIFTH SET TIEBREAK
LONDON— With no end in sight to his Wimbledon semifinal, American John Isner sat slumped in his chair deep into the fifth set and pleadingly looked up at umpire Marija Cicak with a request: “Can we play a tiebreak please?”
He knew the answer. But after losing the longest-ever semifinal at Wimbledon, 7-6(6), 6-7(5), 67(9), 6-4, 26-24, to South African Kevin Anderson in an epic that lasted six hours and 36 minutes, calls to introduce a final set tiebreak again grew louder.
“As an ex-athlete seeing these guys going for it, you have the utmost respect. But this is absurd,” declared seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe while commentating.
As the match wore on, social media went into meltdown with the jokes coming thick and fast, especially with Isner’s marathon match history at the All England Club.
Eight years after being enshrined in Wimbledon folklore for winning the “endless match”—an 11-hour, fiveminute humdinger against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in 2010—he was dragged into the second-longest ever match at the grasscourt major.
“It’s May of 2039, Djokovic has just announced he’s become a grandparent. Federer has opened a chain of Pineapple Pizza bistros, Andy Murray is running for MP. And Isner has finally broken Anderson to lead 5,588-5,587,” one fan tweeted.
But for the two gladiatorial protagonists, and those involved in tennis, the contest was no laughing matter.
“It just seems cruel and unusual punishment for these guys,” McEnroe said. “I hope this magnificent effort by these two experienced and very fit professionals allows the powers that be to make a change.”
It was a sentiment echoed by an exhausted Anderson as soon as he came off court.
“I hope this is a sign for Grand Slams to change. For us to be out there for that length of time. I really hope we can look at this, because at the end you don’t feel great,” said the eighth seed, who has less than 48 hours to get his fatigued body ready for the biggest match of his life.
In his last two matches alone, Anderson has been on court for almost 11 hours. He beat defending champion Roger Federer, 13-11, in the fifth set of the quarterfinals before Friday’s contest drained the life out of him.
“It’s pretty tough in the format that we have right now. My feet are sore, they’re swollen. The legs are pretty jelly-like,” said the 32-year-old who reached his second major final after finishing runner-up to Rafael Nadal at last year’s US Open.