On the afternoon of June 23, 2010, something odd happened in offices, bars, and homes all across the United States: People began watching a tennis match. It wasn't, when it started, an important tennis match: John Isner, the 23rd seed, was facing Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the first round at Wimbledon on side court No. 18. Few people in the U.S. believed Isner was a threat to win the tournament, and fewer still could pronounce his opponent's last name.
There were long stretches when the match wasn't especially interesting to watch, either; it offered little drama from one point to the next. By the time the world began tuning in, Isner and Mahut were deep into a fifth set, and had been trading service holds for hours. Play had been suspended once for darkness the previous day. Now, as the sun set over the All England Club again, and the score reached 20-all, 30-all (!), 40-all (!!), 50-all (!!!), it looked as if this match would be suspended for a second day, for the same reason. Had that ever happened before? Had anything that was going on out on Court 18 ever happened before? Even the scoreboard found itself in uncharted waters. Designed to go only to 47-47, it malfunctioned and had to be fixed that evening.
Read Full Article »