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Marathon tennis match ends

London - John Isner won the longest tennis match on record on Thursday by beating Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the final set of their epic first-round encounter at Wimbledon.

Picking up at 59-59 in the fifth set, the match continued on serve with no break points until the American hit a backhand passing shot past the Frenchman in the 138th game of the set to finish the contest in front of a packed crowd on Court 18.

The amazing final score read: 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3) 70-68.

Isner finished with a total of 112 aces and Mahut 103.

The first-round match lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes, over three days. The fifth set alone lasted 8 hours, 11 minutes.

Isner fell onto his back after winning the final point. After getting up, he tossed his racket to the ground and pointed at Mahut and clapped in recognition of their historic struggle.

Isner said it was "an honour" to play the match. Mahut called it the "greatest match ever."

Player Statistics: Mahut Isner, John Isner

1st Serve %: 67, 74
Aces: 103, 112
Double Faults: 21, 10
Unforced Errors: 39, 52
Winning % on 1st Serve: 284 of 328 = 87%, 292 of 361 = 81%
Winning % on 2nd Serve: 101 of 161 = 63%, 82 of 130 = 63%
Winners (Including Service): 244, 246
Receiving Points Won: 117 of 501 = 23%, 104 of 510 = 20%
Break Point Conversions: 1 of 3 = 33%, 2 of 14 = 14%
Net Approaches: 111 of 155 = 72%, 97 of 144 = 67%
Total Points Won: 502, 478
Fastest Serve Speed: 128 MPH, 143 MPH
Average 1st Serve Speed: 118 MPH, 123 MPH
Average 2nd Serve Speed: 101 MPH, 112 MPH

Source: www.wimbledon.org

Longest known tennis matches:

11 hours, 5 minutes - John Isner def. Nicolas Mahut, 2010 Wimbledon 1R
6:33 - Fabrice Santoro def. Arnaud Clement, 2004 French Open 1R
6:22 - John McEnroe def. Mats Wilander, 1982 Davis Cup, World Group QF
6:21 - Boris Becker def. John McEnroe, 1987 Davis Cup, World Group Playoff
6:04 - Horst Skoff def. Mats Wilander, 1989 Davis Cup, World Group QF
5:59 - Radek Stepanek def. Ivo Karlovic, 2009 Davis Cup, World Group SF
5:46 - Arnaud Clement def. Marc Rosset, 2001 Davis Cup, World Group QF
5:45 - Mehdi Tahiri def. Gilles Muller, 2005 Davis Cup, Europe/Africa Zone 1R Playoff
5:31 - Alex Corretja def. Hernan Gumy, 1998 French Open 3R
5:28 - Greg Holmes def. Todd Witsken, 1989 Wimbledon 2R

Previous longest singles match, games:
112 - Pancho Gonzales def. Charlie Pasarell, 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9 (1969 Wimbledon 1R)

Previous longest doubles match, games:
122 - Stan Smith and Erik Van Dillen def. Patricio Cornejo and Jaime Fillol, 7-9, 37-39, 8-6, 6-1, 6-3 (1973 Davis Cup, United States vs. Chile, American Zone final)

Previous longest fifth set in Grand Slam men's singles: 21-19 - Andy Roddick def. Younes El Aynaoui, 4-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, 21-19 (2003 Australian Open QF)

Previous longest fifth set in Wimbledon men's singles: 20-18 - Mark Philippoussis def. Sjeng Schalken, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 20-18 (2000 Wimbledon 3R)

Previous longest men's singles set at a Grand Slam: 25-23 - John Newcombe def. Marty Riessen, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 25-23 (1969 US Open R16)

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