The irresistible force meets the immovable object, Part Three

The match really caught the imagination of the people on that remarkable second day. The crowds in and around Court 18 had swelled beyond their 700-odd capacity as people stretched and craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the two gladiators. Isner had wanted to carry on, defying all medical advice. Mahut claimed he couldn’t see the ball properly – a fair point when you consider not only the time of day but also the stress of serving second to stay in the match 56 times in a day probably played with his mind somewhat.

And so, much like the Battle of Gettysburg, this one rumbled on to a third day. Would this contest be immortalised like that epic battle? The anticipation in the air is palpable. The world’s eyes are focused on a small patch of manicured grass set deep within the grounds of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club in south-west London. For how long, nobody knows.

The players finally emerge to a momentous roar. There were no favourites now. That ended about eighty games ago. Nobody wanted either player to lose but sport has no time for compassion – someone was going home a broken man.

The match re-started as it had more than ten hours previously, amid a whirlwind unreturnable serves. Both players quickly passed the century mark for aces – smashing any previous record and almost certainly setting a mark that will stand the test of time. The score swiftly drifted into the 60s. Would this ever end? Were these two players so perfectly matched that they were just cancelling each other out? 

Then, a moment of weakness from the Frenchman. He sacrificed a couple of points to allow his American opponent a sight of light at the end of this seemingly endless tunnel. But, showing the confidence, consistency and skill that had got him this far, he quickly shut the blinds. 30-30. But then, another slip, 30-40. Match point Isner. Could he do now what he couldn’t do twice at 33-32?

The first serve falls at the first hurdle. The second is good, as is the return. Mahut plays it deep to Isner’s backhand and confidently glides to the net, ready to swat the return back with yet another nonchalant volley. It is a play he has made seemingly thousands of times in this set, let alone the entire match.

But Isner has other ideas and with a short and rapier-like punch of his racket the ball is fired down the line and beyond the outstretched reach of the brave Nicolas Mahut.

Isner falls to the ground, felled by fatigue and raw emotion before gracefully meeting his intrepid and valiant opponent at the net. The embrace is nothing like a normal meeting between a victor and his prey on a tennis court. This embrace is two men, who have left everything they could possibly have to offer on the court, hugging and knowing that they have been involved in something special, something that will never happen again.

Mahut looks inconsolable as he slumps into his chair and pulls a towel over his head to hide himself from the looks of despair coming at him from all angles. One cannot help but feel sorrow for him as he bows his head and thinks about what might have been.

But this match was not just about one man trying to defeat another in order to progress to the next round of Wimbledon. That ceased to be the case at about 22-22. This was about two men defying all that we thought physically and mentally possible on a tennis court. It was the irresistible force meeting the immovable object head-on. It just goes to show that in sport there are no rules.