Thanks for the draw analysis Ricky. Djokovic and Nadal seems to have the toughest quarters in sharp contrast to Fed and Murray's. Nadal might have to face Gulbis, Isner/Youzhny, Soderling, Murray on the trot. That's a nightmare for just about anyone, not least Nadal who's susceptible against big servers in Week1.

Also Gulbis having withdrawn is not official. He's NOT out of the Wimbledon draw sheet, and it seems he's been seen on the practice courts.

Dimon,

Why would murray want to be in nada's quarter rather than in roger's?? Nadal is the player everyone would want to avoid right now i would say! Murray should be terrified that the best player of the season stands in the way of his fast withering Grand Slam ambitions!!

imjimmy - Gulbis is officially out. The website isn't updated because everyone over there is ASLEEP!

rafanadalfanforever - current former doesn't matter as much as surface. Nobody in their right mind would rather play Federer than Nadal at Wimbledon.

The website isn't updated because everyone over there is ASLEEP!

The same goes for TT. There hasn't been an updated Tournament drawsheet on this site for TWO weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

¡Hola! Dimon, I agree that fed has a big reputation but with all due respect, i think players would be more apprehensive about a certain waxing Rafael Nadal across their net than a waning federer.

not on grass they wouldn't

ed251137 - email info@tennistalk.com about it. Nothing i can do.

petzy vs rafa will be a fascinating match......

http://goo.gl/f2y1

rafa's pre wimbledon interview!!!

Ricky,

Thanks so much for a detailed, objective analysis of the respective draws for the top players. A special thank you for stating unequivocally that Fed has an easy draw! Thank goodness for a much needed dose of reality.

I especially appreciate the early round matchups to watch. In the beginning of a slam, it's kind of crazy with so many matches being played, so it's nice to have a heads up as to the most interesting potential matchups.

Ricky, I already have. This was the response last Tuesday (l5th June):

' Our tech team has been bogged down with getting ready for World Cup. They are working on getting everything updated properly.'

Hope they get around to it in time for Wimbledon. I know we can go to ATP but it would be nice to have it here.

i agree that federer has an easy draw. I too have seen some people call it difficult,which is bull. Talent wise,only berdych can trouble Federer,but he isnt particulary fond of the low bounce of grass and Fed is excellent at exposing that weakness in a player. As for Murray,I actually think that a loss to Tsonga or Verdasco in the 1/4s is possible. Why? Even when murray is in top form,he struggles with big hitters at the slams,and those two guys can blow him off the court with ease. As for Djokovic,he has the worst draw off the top 4. Grass is his worst surface,and he doesnt perform that well on it even in the best of times. To compound the problem,hewitt and roddick,2 of the best grass courters apart from fed and nadal,are in his draw. Tbh,i wouldnt be surprised if Rochus knocked him out in R1. Nadal vs Soderling is very likely,altho there are other people who may stop it from happening.

Long term weather forecast predicts sunny conditions during the first week but a high risk of intermittant rain for the whole of the second week. Oh well, Wimbledon wouldn't be the same without the rain delays!

All I can say is that the players in Nadal's qtr. must be rubbing their hands in glee that they have the 'weakest' of the top 4 in their qtr. I know that Rafa's qtr is not a walkover, but the way people talk about his chances anyone one would think that he loses all the time to these people, like Baghdatis whom he has a 6.0 h2h with, Ferrer - 11.3, Rafa has won the last 7, and so on. Please give the World No 1 some credit. He has made the last 3 finals at Wimbledon, and is a past champion.

I hope Rafa proves them all wrong, and show some people that he is the World No 1. Personally, I think that Rafa is always being talked down even if he wins 90% of his matches, one loss is enough to write him off as easy bait of all comers. It just makes depressing reading.

Federer was taken to 4 sets, three very, very close in Australia by Tipsarevic, Oh, I forgot, that was on hard! Berdych also took him to 5 sets.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/other-sports-news/federer-s-vulner ability-gives-hope-to-chasing-pack-at-wimbledon-1.1035933

nadline: At the risk of stating the obvious, there are two reasons for this. The first, as we all know, is there is a large number of Fed supporters who jump with glee on any slight chink in Rafa's armour. The second is that quite a few Rafa fans get so nervous on his behalf they panic the moment he has an off day ? even more so since his days in the wilderness last year.

Fortunately for tennis ? not to mention the emotional welfare of his fans ? he is back as strong, if not stronger, than ever.

Sanela , 6/20/10 1:54 PM
This was an interesting/amusing article. But I am puzzled by the reference to Rafa having had surgery on his knees. I thought he had rehabilitated them with purely physio and rest.

my full tournament picks - http://www.tennistalk.com/en/blog/Ricky_Dimon/20100620/Wimbledon_picks :_Federer_over_Murray

ed, you hit the nail on the head. The thing is if Rafa does well, they back track and say he had an easy draw.

Why nervous for Rafa. Rafa had beaten Youzhny twice at Wimbledon, 2007 & 2008. Rafa had also beaten Sod in 2007. Rafa had also beaten Gulbis & Murray in 2008. Rafa had beaten Nishikori at Queen's in 2008. Tsonga and Almagro suffered some injuries and had to retire from matches recently. Verdasco has never beaten Rafa and not as 'fresh' as he would want to be. Isner may not even get past Mahut; even if he does, the low bounce on grass may give him all sorts of problems, and Rafa did beat Isner on the hard court at IW this year.

Rafa may not be at the same level as his 2008. However, he is confident and comes prepared this year. He is playing more aggressively now than before. I'm sure he'll do his very best to win the trophy. Stop worrying and leave it to Rafa to handle his opponents, one at a time.

luckystar: the problem is the change of grass at Wimbledon allows the ball to bounce higher than before which helps the overgrown beanstalk players. Still Rafa seems to be able to deal with the 2metre high guys.

ed what change? You mean they change the grass this year? I don't think so! Isner will have problem on grass, he can't move well and he has to bend down really low to receive low balls being hit at him. He can't beat Rafa on hard court, when Rafa was still not a confident Rafa yet. On grass, a confident Rafa will not give him any chance.

There is a strange philosophy in tennis, that lots of people have the opinion that Rafa cannot cope unless the surface is just so - eg. he will have altitude problems in Madrid, or this or that court is playing fast or slow, or the sun is not shining, or there isn't an 'R' in the month. All this about the world §1, who has set so many records there isn't time to go into all of them here, who has a 14-7 h2h against Federer, and has beaten him on all surfaces, and who has won more titles and matches this year than any one else. He is even supposed to be underdog to Nishikori who is No 204 in the world, and has only the Delray trophy in his cabinet.

Rafa has won 40 titles, Murray who is just a year younger has won 14, yet some people will always pick Murray over Rafa.

LAUGHABLE!!!!!!!

Of course no one is invincible, but let's put things in perspective.


VAMOS!


VAMOS!

Nadal will play Youzhny or Mahut in the fourth round

There is no need for all the worries concerning Rafa's supposed tough draw. Rafa can't choose his draw, so all he has to do is go out there to play and try to win his matches. Worry or not, we can't change anything. Of course if he wins the title, all his fans will be happy for him, if he doesn't win, we have to accept it and move on. After all, nobody can win all the time. Funny thing, we did the same thing (of worrying) during the FO (in fact we did it all the time about Rafa's every tournaments) even though clay is Rafa's favorite surface.

This title is unlike the French Open, where he was under tremendous pressure to win to prove to himself and everyone else that he was not finished. After seeing what he had accomplished there, I'm now a happy fan and I know he is now at peace with himself, no more self doubt and no more lacking in confidence. A confident and fit Rafa can do many things at the tennis court. Just relax and let him does his job out there. Win or lose, succeed or fail, we have to support him because we are his fans. Take it one match at a time, don't give ourselves pressure and don't give Rafa any pressure! The old Rafa is back and I think I no longer need to worry for him like I did end of last year. Just analyze his draw objectively and that may calm you, don't forget he is at least the second best player on grass (I did the same for his RG draw and that's why I came out with a prediction of a straight set win for Rafa in the final).

tj600 , 6/20/10 10:19 AM,

I am pretty much in agreement with your analysis of the respective draws. I am not at all sure that Murray will get by Querrey or Tsonga if his form doesn't improve. I also agree that Berdych is the only real threat to Fed. It could be a tough match, but I think Fed will prevail.

I honestly cannot see Djoker going far given the toughness of his draw. I am thinking he will go out in the fourth round, but it could be sooner. He will not get by Hewitt.

I am not yet convinced that Rafa will meet Sod in the quarterfinals. Sod is dangerous on grass, but I haven't seen him playing consistent well recently. We will just have to see if it comes to pass.

luckystar: sorry, didn't mean to imply there has been a recent change. I was referring to the change in (2001/2002?) to rye grass which many people claim slowed down the court and penalised S&V players. Wimbledon deny this but admit the ball now bounces higher in dry conditions giving a fraction longer to take it on the rise. i.e. those tall guys dont have to scoop so many balls off the ground.

NNY, Sod is dangerous on grass? How come he's only gone past the last 32 once, and has an 8.7 win loss ratio on grass?

nadline,

I am referring specifically to Sod being dangerous for Rafa! Or did you happen to miss that 2007 marathon match between them? Sod is an even better player now than he was back then. You simply cannot discount the threat his game poses to Rafa. I know that Rafa beat Sod convincingly at RG, but this is not clay.

No I watched the match, but Rafa won the first two sets, and Rafa only narrowly lost the 3rd set in a tight tie-break to 7. That was one match, it means nothing at all, and it was 3 years ago, Rafa is a different player now.

So is Sod. Look, I don't want to get into an argument with a Rafa fan, of all people! We are both staunch Rafa supporters, so of course we would want him to win. However, we are not there yet.

I saw that match, too, by the way. Since when does Rafa go up two sets and end up in a five setter? That match was not easy. Let's not rewrite history, shall we? Anyway, this discussion is premature. Again I will say this and for the last time - they both have to get to the quarterfinals first!

Any player on their day can be a 'dangerous' player, not only Sod. All Rafa has to do is play well, and I know Rafa has the expertise, the will, the focus and whatever it takes to win a match, Sod or no Sod. As I mentioned, take it one match at a time.

luckystar,

Thanks for your words of wisdom. It is quite true that any player can be dangerous on a given day. That's one reason why I dislike looking ahead to the quarterfinals when Rafa's first match has not even been played yet. Rafa has some tricky opponents in the early rounds and they should not be taken for granted or underestimated. So it is one match at a time. I know that it's normal to look ahead and speculate, but it can be all for nothing if that match does not come to be. For all we know, Sod may not even get to the quarterfinals. Then we will have discussed it to death for nothing.

We are on the same page here. I have faith in Rafa to handle every opponent that comes his way. He is a formidable grass court player and should not be underestimated. We have about three blogs discussing this right now, but I did say that Rafa excels in the intangibles. That is what sometimes wins matches. In the tough moments, when the match is on the line and it's time to step up, there is no one better than Rafa!

I expect Rafa to get to the finals. I hope that settles any differences or arguments or discussions.

this is no time to argue rafans , it is time to join hands, pray and get behind our man ! NNY,luckystar, nadline VAMOS !! ;)

vamosrafa,

Amen! We are all together as one in wishing for Rafa to have a successful Wimbledon. Just think - only two days until we can see him walk out on the court! He's there this year! Thank goodness!

Thanks for your wonderful words! :)

:), cant wait to see rafa back on centre court...last year was painful ...

I cant believe Rafa is being treated as an underdog at Wimby!!!

Rafa has made 3 Wimbyfinals and has beaten the best!! Those guys who are being considered as a possible threat to Rafa have hardly ever made ANY inroads in Wimbledon. So how come THEY are seen as a threat to Rafa instead of Rafa being a threat to them?!! Even with Ricky, im not sure if im surprised at you or disappointed!!

The same rubbish comments are made every time Rafa takes part in a tournement and he ALWAYS leaves his detracters with their foot in their mouth!!! By now, I would think thay they would have leant their lesson.

Nadline and Luckystar, I am with you ALL the way. I will just sit back and watch Rafa play and hope he wins the title. Even if Rafa does not win, (as he cant win them all!!) I would be pleased that at least he has tried his best, and Rafa hardly EVER disappoints!

No one is talking about Federer and his present out of form! If Fed is not careful Berdych may well send him packing!!! We didnt expect Sod to beat Fed at FO, did we?.............seeing that Fed is the so-called second best clay court player!!

Perhaps we should take a hint at what is currently happening in the WCup. All those teams that were supposed to be sailing through, are all crashing!

My prediction for Wimby is Rafa in 5 with Roddick!!........any wagers?!!

VAMOS!!

Prediction: Federer for a straight-set victory with little difficulty..............right...........not if Falla has anything to say about it!!

No more predictions.............please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I predict there will be more predictions. In 2008 Rafa won in Queens and went on to win his first Wimbledon title. I don't see quite that level of confidence in him yet. At Queens he seemed to be having a bit of a hard time transitioning to grass. Yes, he was doing all the right things, but it seemed a bit too radical a change for him. He needs make adjustments, but not lose his strengths. Grass is the second slowest surface and some of the clay principles still apply. Roger has been on a calculated steady rise culminating on this tournament. As Ricky said, surface matters and I'll add that tournaments matter. There are so many variables even within the same surface that it's common to see that certain players always win or do well in those tournaments which suit them best, like Rafa / Monte Carlo and Federer / Wimbledon.
So I'm hoping for a historical repeat of the 2008 epic final, including the result.

grass second slowest surface??? this is a flawed statement..yes grass has slowed down lately BUt it is STILL faster than many hard courts...surely faster than the hard courts used at Oz open and for instance indian wells and miami....whatever the speed grass has its unique nature of absorbing too much momentum of the ball upon contact so the ball stays really low and those low bounces just make conditions speedier than most hard courts...on average may be the deco turf plays faster though as grass has slowed than nowadays .

oh well mahut is giving a very serious test to isner..
and don't be surprised if isner fails the test..
tho isner should just about pass it.

So, there it is!!
first time ever in grand slams, 100+ aces in a match!!

anothe record!!
1st time ever in open era both men have hit 50 or more aces in the same match!!
this match will break some serving records!!

it will also break the record of the most boring match EVER!!!!

one more record down the drain.. highest number of aces in grand slam history in a single match by isner, currently 56..

another one goes..
Most games in a singles match after the introduction of the tiebreaker, 84 now..
oh, i'm loving this match!!!

another one!!
OMG this is a record breaking fest!!
Longest singles match by time played since the introduction of the tiebreaker at wimbledon.. now 5 hrs 9 mins..

I forgot to add something in my 6/23/10 5:04 PM post.
this is the 1st time ever that 100+ aces have been served in a match!!
currently 110..

another one!!
most aces in a single set, by isner, at 31 (official record)
and the mahut is 3rd on the official list at 27..

Isner at 62 aces and (are you ready for this?) 199 winners (and only 35 errors).

Un-be-lieve-able!

another one.....the record for the most record broken in a single match...:P

most aces ever in asingle set, 33 , by isner, breaking the unofficial record of 32..
and mahut is chasing him..
plus this is the maximum games in the 5th set of wimbledon..47 now..

200!!

(vrael, no one's holding a gun to your head and making you watch this.)

im not watching the match.....wat makes u think i am..lol

I cannot confirm this,
but, this is the maximum winners (including service) in a single match ever..
currently 380..

I dunno. Your constant interaction here, or are you just naturally a killjoy? In other words don't you have anything better to do than rain on another's parade?

the max winners record pertains to open era..
and now, mahut has hit the 2nd most number of aces in a single set.. (officially)

And we're going to set No. 9 ...

not my intention to kill any sort of JOY u ppl are having here.....

vrael,
aren't u loving this game?
i'm loving it!!
records are being broken..
in house statistician's joy!! :P

i am not watching the match CLAYKING.....not a big fan of this brand of tennis!!!

You're just a fan of commenting, eh? Gotsta love the Interwebs ... <rolls eyes>

different likings vrael..
oh and the winner of this match plays winner of giraldo-debakker, who are creating a marathon of lesser proportions on their own..

federer's out....FINALLY!!!

Adios!

Hey, clay, think this match has a chance of being First Match To Never Finish? ;-)

mahut has the second highest number of aces in a GS match!!
57 now!!!
never ever has such a number of aces been seen!!
122 now!!

52 games. seriously,this is a 9 to 10 set match.

no, senor
no way!!
both men are now super tired!!
its down to willpower now!!

400 winners between them!!

this match becomes the first match ever after introduction of tie breaker to touch 100 games!!
and only 4 matches ever has touched that record before!!!

Yup, clay, just like last year's finals. First one to blink ...

tomorrow we may witness the laziest match in history of tennis..
tomorrow will be winner of this match (exceeding 6 hours) will play the winner of debakker graldo match (exceeding 4 hours!!)

This is the longest 5th set in history, in both terms of games since tiebreaker came and also by time..

this match is 20 mins away from being the longest ever in tennis history and 10 games away from the longest by games in a 5 setter match!!
oh the longest match by games is a 3setter matter where the core read 27-29, 31-29, 6-4 (126 games)

@clayking
it would be hilarious if the federer match finished b4 this one.

yup tj..
super hilarious..
btw, the debakker giraldo match ends after 4hrs 26 mins..
and de bakker will have a slight advantage over the winner today!!

60 games in the last set. lol..

Set number 10 ...

and tj,
81 aces in last set!!
more than what karlovic's world record in a full match!!

Is anyone else watching this on TV? I have to say it makes pretty monotonous viewing!

ed,
to me this is amazing!!
reminds me of edberg becker matches!!
of course the volleying is nowhere near that league, but the serving is so good!!
n i'm watching it!!

there is that record!!!
the longest match ever in tennis history by time..
6 hrs 34 minutes now!!!

many classic 5 setter don't go 66 games..
the 5th set here is already at 66 games..
and surely the record of most number of games ever in history of 5 setters will go to this match!

mahut saves two match points. 33-33.

oh well, shadows are creeping in!!
federer would have been happy in this condition!!

7 minutes away from 7 hours mak!!
incredible!!

71 fu**** games. seriously,this match is going on and on and on....

there is another one!!!
78 aces for isner, equalling the record for most aces ever..
and isner becomes the only man to hit 50 aces in a single set..

the match has touched 7 hr mark..
it is 7 hr 7 mins long..

the crowd has not receded a bit!!
in fact it has increased a bit!!!!

freaking awesome!!
150 aces!!

:-O

I just got out of a near hourlong meeting, and this match is STILL FREAKING GOING!?!?

This is the match that will never end!

senor,
you may be right now!!
isner is looking he will die of exhaustion and still he is serving aces and holdingto his games..
as for mahut, tiredness is catching up, but he too is serving well..

clay, any idea how many matches have started and ended during this marathon? I'm betting Nole-Dent will be over before this one will ...

okay, let's make a little fun of it, I predict that this match will end Isner 46-44. :-)

WTF-the match is STILL FUREAKING GOING ON!!

cannot say that because this match was spread over two days..
but today, 9 men's singles matches(incuding de bakker giraldo from yesterday), 12 ladies singles matches, 8 men's doubles matches and 10 ladies doubles matches have been finished.. has finished..
a total of 39 matches over 17 courts!!

How do you serve, what 60 games in a match and have only 9 double faults?

My guess is both of these guys are going to need help getting dressed tomorrow, because neither one is going to be able to raise his arm over his head.

there is the last big record!!
127 games the match has lasted, surpassing the previous record of 126 games, thus becoming the longest match in history of tennis by number of games as well..
this is the longest match ever in every sense!!

p.s. now i can sleep without any regret as i have seen all the major records tumbling that could have tumbled in this match!!
but i'll try to wait out till end..

500 winners now!

Yeah, clay, can't quit now. <rubs shoulders> c'mon champ! Hang in there! ;-)

Wimbledon should give them extra cash bonus for making another record in tennis happened at Wimbledon.

Not only helping them to put their clothes SP, they need to be spoon feeded because they can't move their hands and they will be in a wheelchairs. lolz.

clayking, since you are the king of records, what was the longest pro boxing match?

Set No. 12, coming up after these important messages ...

ok...i'll take a cigarette break.

LOL!!!
boxing??
no idea!!
my statistical abilities do not extend beyond tennis and cricket..
so, what's the answer??
the match must have lasted 50 rounds or so..

exactly 5 hrs this set has lasted!!
seriously, that's crazy..
now debakker is surely happy!!

Novak is about to finish his match and this one still unfinished . They can't even take a toilet break. Radikulos !!!

Yup, Nole-Dent is over now, too.

And the band plays on ...

i would be glad if someone updates when this record happens.
the longest time players have played on without a change of shirt!!

boxing came to mind because this match is perhaps about who can take the beating the most... don't they stop boxing matches after 12 rounds or so and declare a winner based on points?

This can't be right, that they can't take a bathroom break?

oh chloro,
i just checked that..
and the answer is 110 rounds, 7 hr+ fight to finish in 1893..

As far as I know tie-breaker should be continous and bathroom break is not allowed. There is a lot of empty water bottles anyway, they can utilize it if any of them wants to pee. lolz.

p.s. Isner this is the time to break.

45-46....rofl!!!!!!

Mahut has more will to win than the whole French World Cup team put together!!

the chances are 50-50 that there will be a 50-50..
how many think so?

90 aces!!
seriously, is he thinking of that number??

I've about reached the point where the only way we'll have a winner is if someone double-faults four times in a row or if one of the two is literally KO'd and retires.

Another thing I'm convinced of: Isner is a cyborg. How else do you still hit 120MPH on your serve when you've already served nearly 50 games in one day?

senor,
what about mahut..
he is looking fresh..
and what is going through querrey's mind??

48-47 mahut to serve lolz.

John can't almost hit a good return that's why he can hardly get a good chance to break. Mahut is better on return serve but John is better on serving.

Can John close now the match?

got to give a slight edge to isner...he is serving ahead.

Regardless of when this finishes, I'm thinking: Gentlemen's 2nd Round match, winner DeBakken walkover.

Mahut? Ah, he's a piker! He's can't do any better than 115! :-)

Querrey? Let's see now ... Can I win playing one-on-two?

Someone here predicted I can't remember in which thread, an hour or more ago, Isner to win 46-44.

Time for another prediction: 56-54... for Melzer (just to predict the other one to win). Or 62-60...

Honestly, what is going to decide this match?

If their arms and backs and minds hold out, will they have to postpone until tomorrow because of fading light? When would it get dark enough? an hour and a half to two hours from now?

8 hrs 38 min.....

haha, 49-48 mahut to serve again.

let's see how john can do here.

lol!!
querrey must be thinking that!!
he must be watching the match with jaws dropped..

for the first time in history of tennis, tiebreaker or no tiebreaker..
1st time ever, there will be the number 50 on a tennis scoreboard..

the crowd just stood on their feet and clapped when they heard the number 50 being announced..

If their bodies hold out for another half our or more Mahut too will break Karlovic' world record of aces in a single match... (let alone single set as clayking pointed out about Isner)...

50-50

50-50..
100 games!!!!
amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This has passed the point of awe to the point of hilarity.

woooo hoooo tremendous pressure on Isner on that game. Isner holds 51-50 mahut to serve again.

This is ridiculously crazy.

Isborg down two break points serves 132!! after 50 service games and, what, 5 hours on court?

rain,
don't try describing this game..
you will run out of words..

Hah! ATP site just threw in the towel at 50, the score for the set now reads 1-0, Isner. Isner-Mahut just took out the ATP game tracker computer!

mahut also breaks karlovic's record..
karlovic must be thinking from his home..
what is up with these men???
why only my records??

I'm following this also on slamtracker... after 50 the numbers have started again at 1 so now it looks like they have each played only a couple of games in the fifth set.

Some programmer worked this out so that in case it goes to 99 it will just roll over and start from 0 again, 0 meaning 100.

Seriously.... WHEN will this end... although there have been several breakpoints saved on both sides so tiredness will eventualy lead to a conversion.

I wanted to go to bed early since Rafa was not playing but I get caught up watching this match and I am certain that I can't get a sleep with the thought of who's going to win.

SO STAY TUNE !!!

how's your coffee supply, clayking?

isner and mahut could use some

and the shot of the sky is reminding us that this match just might reach fading light conditions.

NO NO NO DON'T GET HURT MAHUT, get up!

The battle continous as Isner holds 54-53, Mahut to serve to stay in the match.

cholo, I was just thinking, what if someone went to ATP now and went, "oh cool, the Isner-Mahut match started up again. Let's see 4-3 in the fifth, but man, why all the winners? They must have played some unbelievably long games"

Or something like that ...

Well, sorry guys, but i have to quit..
these guys are amazing, and will go down in history books for their never say die attitude.
but I, being a mere mortal, have to quit..
its too late here, and if my mother gets up and sees i'm up at 1 a.m on my comp, surely i'm in for a scolding (hey! i'm just 18)
but i have a request..
when this match is over and ricky puts up a thread concerning this match, please post the below given statistics, with filling in the appropriate numbers..


"So, here is a list of all the records that were made today (all these records happened even after considering records made in doubles, among men's and women's tennis in its 130 years of history of professional tennis)..

1) longest match ever by time, with the match lasting hrs mins
2) longest match ever in terms of games, 1 games
3) longest ever set, with the 5th set lasting hrs mins. longest set in terms of games as well.
4) most aces by a single player in a match- by isner
5) most aces by a single player in a set- by isner
6) 2nd most aces by a single player in a match- by mahut
7) 2nd most aces by a single player in a set- by mahut
8) maximum aces in a match combined- aces together
9) maximum winners in a single match ever winners including service
10)maximum points played in single match ever

P.S. of course some records are automatically made when the above records are made..
like that of longest mach at wimbledon, longest match at a grandslam etc..

TRIVIA
1) first time ever the number 50 is shown on a tennis scoreboard
2) longest time two men have played with an unchanged shirt or without a toilet break!! :P"

guys, i'm expecting one of you to put this up, after filling in the appropriate stats from slam tracker..
oh I cannot see history being completed!! :-(

You bet. Sweet dreams.

clayking you'll probably able to see the finish tomorrow. ;)

Mahut might break Isner's aces record. It's now 96-90 in that department.

lolz McEnroe and Henman went out to witness the crisis at Court 18.

MATCH SUSPENDED DUE TO DARKNESS. THEY ARE TIED AT 59-59 IN THE FIFTH SET .... TO BE CONTINUED.

Good night everyone and see you again tomorrow.

Unbelieveable. The tale of the tape at this point:

Mahut:

94 acres
318 winners
20 doubles
56 errors

Isner:

98 aces
333 winners
9 -- NINE doubles
53 errors

according to ATP time of match: 174 minutes. That's about, what 480 minutes short? Maybe the computer can't count past 500 either.

When I wrote about maybe having to be postponed due to fadnig light I thought that was a very remote possibility...

The thing is, they will be *somewhat* rested by tomorrow again and unless one of them has more pain from today they might continue to not break each other for who knows how long...

The match is near the top story on Google News. Amazing.

Two predictions:

1.) Although I've learned never to say "never again," I'll say it now: We''l never see another 120-game set in tennis, which this one will be at minimum.

2.) This match will end quickly after all the hullaballoo of today. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends after the first two games -- either a win and a break or a break and a win. Either way, this one is going to be in the books for some time.

OH MY GOD I fell asleep watching the match (NOT because I was bored! I was just too tired) at around the 39 mark.. just woke up, banged my head against the wall, searched frantically through the news channels for an update and then on my phone before finally stumbling on the fact that it is freaking 59-59 and suspended.. will these guys be able to move their arms tomorrow to come out and play?

All I can hope is that some other marathon match intervenes and their game gets postponed to day-after..

By the way, to underline what an epic contest this has become, the final set alone, at seven hours and six minutes, beats all the now-obsolete records for match lengths. - from wimby site.

Records they have broken


- THE records broken so far in the match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, according to the International Tennis Federation.

- Most number of games in a match: 168. Previous record was 112 between Pancho Gonzales and Charlie Pasarell at Wimbledon in 1969.

- Longest match: 10 hours. Previous record was 6hrs, 33mins between Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement at the French Open in 2004.

- Longest fifth set: 118 games. Previous record was 40 games between Andy Roddick and Younes El Aynaoui at the Australian Open in 2003.

- Longest set in a grand slam: 118 games. Previous record was 48 games between John Newcombe and Marty Reissen at the US Open in 1969.

- Most aces by a player in a match: 98 by Isner. Previous record was78 by Ivo Karlovic in 2009, meaning Mahut (95) has also broken the record.

- Most combined aces in a match: 193. Previous record was 96 between Karlovic (78) and Radek Stepanek (28) in 2009.

- Most number of aces by one player in a match at Wimbledon: 98 by Isner. Previous record was 51 by Ivo Karlovic at Wimbledon in 2005.



- Most Winners in a tennis match.
- Most number of aces in a single set by a player.




+++++++++

Just to put things in perspective, the last set ALONE breaks every record by itself! :)

The LAST SET ALONE clocking at at SEVEN Hours and Six Minutes and a mind boggling 118 Games comfortably beats the longest games in terms of time and games at SIX Hrs, 33 mins between Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement & 112 Games between Pancho Gonzales and Charlie Pasarel. Even in terms of aces, forget the 98 aces, Isner beats the previous best of 56 aces in the legendary last set itsef.

One more thing, the only record that the last set alone has yet to beat is the previous longest game in any form of tennis, a 122-game 1973 Davis Cup doubles match. And that too is just 6 games away. This Last Set is one hell of an animal I say!!

Bows & Applause!

@FIG,
the previous record for most number of games was 126 games between two guys..
but the match was a 3 setter..
scoreline was 27-29, 31-29, 6-4

also,
FIG, the 122 games you mention was overall..
this match stands at 163 games..
here is a useful link to previous records..
http://www.tennisgrandstand.com/archives/5196

@ck, i was saying that the fifth set alone has to break that record.. the match by itself has of course broken everything.. it is just a trivia thing of how a single set can eclipse every record. That all.. and the match i quoted was taken from wimby website and atp probably only considers open era matches. the pre-open era matches were not satisfactorily recorded for accurate perusal.

127 games! Anyway whether it was a 126 game match or a 122 game match, the fifth set has broken every record ever set and this match is officially now from a parallel universe.

I still cant come to grips with a single set being longer than any match ever in tennis history. Sorry for commenting repeatedly about what can only be rightfully considered mildly interesting trivia :) or not.

FIG,
if you are speaking of longest games ever,
you can refer to the link i posted..
its 144 games in doubles..

144 games? 72 games each? No problem, coming right up...

Wimbledon 2011 Draw


HOW THE SEEDS ARE WORKED OUT
Official ATP ranking points as at a week before Wimbledon where we start off, that's all points gained in all the tournaments you played in last year, be it clay, grass, hard, the surface of the moon, whatever. After this, the men are then given extra points as per the following formula:

- Add 100% points earned for all grass court tournaments in the past 12 months.
- Add 75% points earned for best grass court tournament in the 12 months before that.

So say for example that in the week before Wimbledon, I have 5000 ATP rankings points and I won Wimbledon and won Queens, so that's an extra 2000 points for Wimbledon last year, and then an extra 250 for winning Queens. So I now have 7250 'seeding' points.

If you didn't get the above, duggietoo did an article a while ago about it, here: www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A70123...

We then add my Wimbledon and Queens points from the year before (2008), which being the legend I am, I won both in that year too. This time you only add 75% of my 2000 Wimbledon points and 250 queens points, which would be 1687.5 points. So you add those to my 7250 points, giving myself a total of 8937.5 seeding points.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A70219983


In that case the points will be:

Rafa......2045.........................Seeded - 1
Roger....2010.........................Seeded - 2
Murray...1198.........................Seeded - 3
Nole......1010.........................Seeded - 4

Sorry guys, forgot to add the ranking points so I totally wrong. Djokovic could end up being No 2 seed at Wimbledon after his ranking points are added, but I think Rafa will definitely be No 1.

nadline, can't Wimbledon seed as it likes and isn't the defending champion always 1?

Rafa has never been the top seed at Wimbledon nor has he taken part as the defending champion as he missed 2009.I hope this year at least Rafa would have that honor.
There is no guarantee that Rafa will be top seed. If Djokovic's ranking points exceed Rafa's by 1035, then despite the edge in grass points, Rafa will be no. 2.
If Rafa crashes out early in Rome or RG and Nole keeps winning, there is every chance that Rafa may end up as No. 2 even at Wimbledon.

But holdserve, both my points still hold...... ;)

No the defending champion isn't always No 1 because they take into account 75% of points earned on grass two years before plus 100% of points earned in the previous year on grass.

I found the formula they use by searching the internet.

holdserve, Rafa had better not crash out early in Rome and RG........what are you doing to me? Lol