John Isner has finally brought an end to the longest match in tennis history as he broke the serve of Nicolas Mahut to secure a 70-68 victory in the deciding set of their first-round Wimbledon encounter.
After 11 hours and five minutes on Court 18 and with a raft of records having been broken, 23rd seed Isner found two crucial winners to break the resistance of the Frenchman in the 138th game of a remarkable set.
The pair first walked on court on Tuesday, and Isner - who hit 112 aces in the match - secured a 6-4 3-6 6-7 (7/9) 7-6 (7/3) 70-68 triumph to bring the curtain down on one of the most remarkable episodes in the history of the All England Club.
"I am a little bit tired," an elated Isner said. "When you play a match like this with an atmosphere like this you don't feel tired. This crowd was fantastic.
"The guy (Mahut) is an absolute warrior. I want to share this day with him, it was an absolute honour. I wish him the best and see him somewhere down the road and it won't go 70-68."
The previous longest match was the six hours 33 minutes epic between Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement at the 2004 French Open. Isner and Mahut's final set lasted eight hours and 11 minutes alone.
