Isner–Mahut match In a record-setting match spanning three days, 23rd seed
John Isner, attempting to win his first ever match at Wimbledon, faced off against
qualifier Nicolas Mahut in the first round, between 22 and 24 June. With the score at 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7), 7–6(3), 59–59, the match was suspended due to failing daylight for the second straight day, after a total of 9 hours and 58 minutes of play. Isner had already served a world record 98 aces by that time, with Mahut scoring 94 aces, both breaking Ivo Karlović's previous record of 78. The second day's play alone totalled 7 hours and 8 minutes, more than the longest previous complete match, therefore also making it the longest session of tennis ever played in a single day. Isner eventually defeated Mahut 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7), 7–6(3), 70–68. The match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes in total, and the fifth set alone lasted 8 hours and 11 minutes. The match has been noted as officially the longest match ever in a tennis Open in terms of both times and games, beating the previous records set (respectively) by the match between Frenchmen
Fabrice Santoro and
Arnaud Clément at the
2004 French Open, which lasted for 6 hours and 33 minutes, and the first round match at
Wimbledon in 1969 where
Pancho Gonzales defeated
Charlie Pasarell in 112 games (before the introduction of the
tie-break).
Time magazine named the Isner–Mahut match one of the Top 10 Sports Moments of 2010.
Queen visits Wimbledon Queen Elizabeth II visited Wimbledon on Thursday 24 June, her first visit to the annual tennis tournament in 33 years. The last time the Queen had attended the championships was in
1977, when she watched British player
Virginia Wade win the ladies' singles title. Arriving shortly after 11 am, the Queen's visit included a tour of the grounds and an observation session of the All England Club's Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative on Court 14, before moving to the Members' Lawn where she greeted a line-up of players: the defending champions in singles
Serena Williams and
Roger Federer, multiple-time Wimbledon champions
Martina Navratilova,
Billie Jean King and
Venus Williams, and a selection of top professionals:
Caroline Wozniacki,
Jelena Janković,
Novak Djokovic and
Andy Roddick. She also met four British women's tennis players:
Heather Watson,
Elena Baltacha,
Anne Keothavong and
Laura Robson. Following that, she walked across the bridge to
Centre Court, where she later had lunch in the Clubhouse with a selection of former and current tennis players. The Queen finished her visit by watching Britain's fourth seed
Andy Murray play
Jarkko Nieminen on Centre Court, from the
Royal Box. Before and after the match, Murray and Nieminen bowed to the Royal Box, a tradition that had previously not been in use since 2003.
Records In addition to all the records set during the match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, the following records were also established: • Novak Djokovic's first-round match against Olivier Rochus was the latest-ever finish at Wimbledon, ending at 22:58, two minutes before the 23:00 curfew. Djokovic won the match 4–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2. • In a second-round match against Djokovic, Taylor Dent broke the serve speed record at Wimbledon, at 148 mph (beating the record set by Andy Roddick at 146 mph in 2009). Djokovic won the match 7–6(7–5), 6–1, 6–4. • Serena Williams recorded the most aces served by a female at a Grand Slam, with 89 aces. ==Singles players==