John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest match in history at Wimbledon last year and, remarkably, have been drawn to meet each other in the first round of this year’s tournament.
In their marathon match at last year’s tournament, Isner eventually prevailed 6-4 3-6 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-3) 70-68.
This year’s first-round tie will take place on Tuesday but organisers have yet to allocate a court.
British number one Andy Murray tweeted: “Centre court anyone?!”
Their freak 11-hour-and-five-minute encounter on Court 18 enthralled and captivated audiences around the world, as well as completely rewriting tennis’s history books in the process.
After play was suspended at 59-59 because of bad light, the pair played another 19 games before Isner, who had been the 23rd seed, eventually broke Frenchman Mahut’s serve before holding out for a truly remarkable victory.
Not only did the duo play the longest set and match ever recorded, they also played the most games in a set and a match, registered the most aces in a match and the most aces by a player.
Isner finished with 112 aces and Mahut 103, easily beating the previous record – held by Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic – of 78.
And British number one Andy Murray, who will play world number 56 Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the first round at SW19, said Isner and Mahut deserved a show court for their 2011 encounter.
“Isner vs Mahut drawing each other in the first round after last year is the most amazing thing I’ve seen in tennis!” he tweeted.
