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Longest tennis match records

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Fabrice Santoro won the longest ATP recognised tennis match at the 2004 French Open. He won in 6 hours 33 minutes.

This article details longest tennis match records. Records concerning the length of tennis matches can refer to either the length of time that a match takes up or the number of games which a tennis match lasts for. Many of the records have been affected by the introduction of the tiebreak in 1973 which has resulted in many earlier records not being broken.

All time

Time

  • Longest match: At the 2004 French Open, Fabrice Santoro took 6 hours, 33 minutes to defeat Arnaud Clément 6–4, 6–3, 6–7(5), 3–6, 16–14.[1]
  • Longest women's match: In 1984, Vicki Nelson took 6 hours, 31 minutes to defeat Jean Hepner 6–4, 7–6(11). The match featured a 29-minute, 643-shot rally, the longest in professional tennis history.[2]
  • Longest match completed in a single day: The Nelson–Hepner match above remains the longest to be completed within a single day. The 2004 Santoro–Clément match was suspended by darkness in the fifth set with 4:38 elapsed, and completed the following day.[2]
  • Longest doubles match: In a 2002 Davis Cup semifinal tie, Lucas Arnold/David Nalbandian defeated Yevgeny Kafelnikov/Marat Safin in 6 hours, 20 minutes 6–4, 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 19–17.[3][4]
  • Longest unofficial professional match: On 25 February 2009, Chris Eaton defeated James Ward in a play off match to represent the United Kingdom in Davis Cup. Eaton won the match 6–3, 6–2, 6–7(3), 2–6, 21–19 in 6 hours and 40 minutes. If the match had been recognised by the ATP it would have officially been the longest match played by seven minutes.[5]

Games

Australian Open

Men

  • Longest singles match by time played: In 2009, Rafael Nadal took 5 hours, 14 minutes to defeat Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals 6–7(4), 6–4, 7–6(2), 6–7(1), 6–4.[8]
  • Longest singles final by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 1927, Gerald Patterson took 71 games to defeat John Hawkes 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 18–16, 6–3.[citation needed]

Women

  • Longest singles final by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 1956, Mary Carter Reitano took 33 games to defeat Thelma Coyne Long 3–6, 6–2, 9–7.[citation needed]
  • Longest singles match by time played: In a 2010 first-round match, Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová defeated Regina Kulikova 7–6(5), 6–7(10), 6–3 in a match that lasted 4 hours, 19 minutes. This is also a record for all women's Grand Slam events in the open era, and is believed to be the second-longest women's match of all time.[9]

Wimbledon

Men

The 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal lasted 4 hours 48 minutes and is, to date, the longest singles final by time played.
  • Longest singles final by time played: In 2008, Rafael Nadal took 4 hours, 48 minutes to defeat Roger Federer 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7.
  • Longest singles final by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 1954, Jaroslav Drobný took 58 games to defeat Ken Rosewall 13–11, 4–6, 6–2, 9–7.
  • Longest singles final by number of games since the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 2009, Roger Federer took 77 games to defeat Andy Roddick 5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14.
  • Longest singles match by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 1969, Pancho Gonzales took 112 games to defeat Charlie Pasarell in the first round 22–24, 1–6, 16–14, 6–3, 11–9.
  • Longest singles match by time played since the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 2000, Mark Philippoussis took 5 hours, 5 minutes to defeat Sjeng Schalken 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(7), 7–6(4), 20–18.[citation needed]
  • Longest doubles match by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 1966, Nikki Pilic and Gene Scott took 98 games to defeat Cliff Richey and Torben Ulrich in the first round 19–21, 12–10, 6–4, 4–6, 9–7.
  • Longest doubles final by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 1968, John Newcombe and Tony Roche took 70 games to defeat Ken Rosewall and Fred Stolle 3–6, 8–6, 5–7, 14–12, 6–3.

Women

Mixed doubles

French Open

Men

  • Longest match by time played: In 2004, Fabrice Santoro took 6 hours, 33 minutes to defeat Arnaud Clément 6–4, 6–3, 6–7(5), 3–6, 16–14.
  • Longest match by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In a 1951 semifinal, Eric Sturgess took 76 games to defeat Ken McGregor 10–8, 7–9, 8–6, 5–7, 9–7.
  • Longest match by number of games since the introduction of the tiebreaker:
    1. In 1994, Ronald Agénor took 71 games to defeat David Prinosil in the second round 6–7(4), 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–4, 14–12.
    2. In 2004, Santoro took 71 games to defeat Clément.
    3. In 2010, Lacko took 71 games to defeat Yani in the first round with the score of: 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 12-10.
  • Longest singles final by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 1927, René Lacoste took 61 games to defeat Bill Tilden 6–4, 4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 11–9.
  • Longest doubles finals by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker
    1. In 1934, Jean Borotra and Jacques Brugnon took 63 games to defeat Jack Crawford and Vivian McGrath 11–9, 6–3, 2–6, 4–6, 9–7.
    2. In 1971, Arthur Ashe and Marty Riessen took 63 games to defeat Tom Gorman and Stan Smith 6–8, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 11–9.

Women

Mixed doubles

US Open

Men

  • Longest match by time played: In 1992, Stefan Edberg took 5 hours, 26 minutes to defeat Michael Chang 6-7(3), 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-4 [12].
  • Longest match by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker:
    1. In 1966, Marcelo Lara and Joaquin Loyo-Mayo took 105 games to defeat Manuel Santana and L. Garcia in the third round 10–12, 24–22, 11–9, 3–6, 6–2.
    2. In 1967, Cliff Drysdale and Ray Moore took 105 games to defeat Roy Emerson and Ron Barnes in the quarterfinals 29–31, 8–6, 3–6, 8–6, 6–2.
  • Longest singles match by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 1969, F.D. Robbins took 100 games to defeat Donald Dell in the first round 22–20, 9–7, 6–8, 8–10, 6–4.
  • Longest singles final by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 1949, Pancho Gonzales took 67 games to defeat Ted Schroeder 16–18, 2–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4.
  • Longest doubles final by number of games before the introduction of the tiebreaker: In 1946, Gardnar Mulloy and William Talbert took 74 games to defeat F. Guernsey and Don McNeill 3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–3, 20–18.

Women

Mixed doubles

Davis Cup

See also

References

  1. ^ ESPN - Santoro wins the longest match - Tennis
  2. ^ a b Seminara, Dave (2009-09-23). "Vicki Nelson and Jean Hepner Recall Longest Point in Pro Tennis". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-19. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Tennis Records and Statistics
  4. ^ David Nalbandian
  5. ^ BBC SPORT | Tennis | Eaton edges Ward in marathon tie
  6. ^ Pancho wins the longest match
  7. ^ http://www.atpworldtour.com/Share/Event-Draws.aspx?e=580&y=2003
  8. ^ Australian Open (2009). "Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco's record-breaking five-hour, 14-minute five set semifinal".
  9. ^ "Four Hours, 19 Minutes". Women's Tennis Association. 2010-01-19. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  10. ^ A Page About Wimbledon Ladies Trivia
  11. ^ However, in 1902, Muriel Robb defeated Charlotte Cooper Sterry 7–5, 6–1 after abandomnent of an overnight score of 4–6, 13–11, thus needing a total of 53 games to win the title.
  12. ^ US Open - Marathon Men - Tennis