The Tennis Match That Took Three Days

At Wimbledon in 2010, two players walked onto Court 18 for a first-round match. Nobody expected anything special. John Isner was an American, tall, with a powerful serve. Nicolas Mahut was French, lower-ranked, and not famous outside of tennis. Their match was scheduled for one afternoon.

Sa Wimbledon noong dalawang libo't sampu, lumakad papasok sa Court Labingwalo ang dalawang manlalaro para sa unang laban. Walang naghinala na may kakaiba ito. Si John Isner ay isang Amerikano, matangkad, na may malakas na serve. Si Nicolas Mahut naman ay Pranses, mas mababa ang ranggo, at hindi kilala sa labas ng mundo ng tennis. Ang kanilang laban ay iskedyul lang para sa isang hapon.

It did not end that afternoon. It did not end the next day either.

Hindi ito natapos nang hapong iyon. Hindi rin ito natapos sa sumunod na araw.

The two players began their match on Tuesday, June 22. Neither of them could break the other one's serve. They played through three sets, then four. By evening, with the score at two sets all, the umpire stopped the match because of fading light. They would have to finish tomorrow.

Sinimulan ng dalawang manlalaro ang kanilang laban noong Martes, ikadalawampu't dalawa ng Hunyo. Wala sa kanila ang nakapasok sa serve ng kalaban. Naglaro sila sa tatlong set, pagkatapos ay apat. Pagsapit ng gabi, patas ang dalawang set kada isa, itinigil ng umpire ang laban dahil sa unti-unting kadiliman. Kailangan nilang tapusin ito kinabukasan.

On Wednesday, they came back. They played the fifth set, which has no tiebreak at Wimbledon. They would have to win it by two games. The score climbed: 10-10, 20-20, 30-30. Mahut held his serve. Isner held his. Eventually it reached 59-59. The crowd watched, silent, almost embarrassed. The match had to be stopped again. Light, once more.

Noong Miyerkules, bumalik sila. Nilaro nila ang ikalimang set, na walang tiebreak sa Wimbledon. Kailangan nilang manalo nang dalawang laro ang pagitan. Umakyat ang iskor: sampu-sampu, dalawampu-dalawampu, tatlumpu-tatlumpu. Hinawakan ni Mahut ang kanyang serve. Ginawa rin ito ni Isner. Sa bandang huli, umabot ito sa limampu't siyam kada isa. Nanood ang mga tao nang tahimik, halos nahihiya. Kinailangang itigil muli ang laban. Dahil sa liwanag, muli.

On Thursday, after over ten hours on the court, John Isner finally broke the serve of his exhausted opponent. The final score in the fifth set was 70-68. The entire match lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes. Mahut hit 103 aces and still lost.

Noong Huwebes, matapos ang mahigit sampung oras sa court, sa wakas ay napasok ni John Isner ang serve ng kanyang pagod na kalaban. Ang huling iskor sa ikalimang set ay pitumpu kontra animnapu't walo. Umabot ng labing-isang oras at limang minuto ang buong laban. Umampat si Mahut ng isandaan at tatlong aces ngunit natalo pa rin.

When it was over, neither player could speak well to the cameras. Both were given small medals to mark what had happened. The court itself got a small plaque added to it. Years later, it is still the longest tennis match ever played, and most people in tennis believe it will never be beaten.

Nang matapos na ito, hindi halos makapagsalita nang maayos sa harap ng mga kamera ang dalawang manlalaro. Binigyan silang dalawa ng maliliit na medalya bilang alaala ng nangyari. Nilagyan pa ng maliit na palatandaan ang court mismo. Mga taon pagkatapos, ito pa rin ang pinakamahabang laban sa tennis na nailaro, at naniniwala ang karamihan sa mundo ng tennis na hindi na ito matatalo.