Long serve: When John Isner finally won the longest match in tennis history today, he collapsed on the Wimbledon grass and then summoned one last burst of energy, springing to his feet to give his opponent a bear hug. Isner hit a backhand up the line today to win the last of the match’s 980 points, and he beat Nicolas Mahut in the fifth set 70-68. The first-round marathon took 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days, lasting so long it was suspended because of darkness—two nights in a row. Play resumed Thursday at 59-all before an overflow crowd on cozy Court 18 and continued for 20 games and 65 minutes before Isner won. Isner, who played tennis at Georgia, will be back to play in a fourth-round match Friday. Mahut moves on to the Wimbledon doubles tournament Monday with his partner, Arnaud Clement. They will face Ken Skupski, who played tennis at LSU, and Colin Fleming in the first round.
No repeat: The stunned looks and the tears told the story, for both teams. For defending champion Italy, the ignominy of being sent out of the World Cup in the first round sank in immediately. For Slovakia, which beat the Italians 3-2 today to advance—well, the celebrating might not stop before Monday’s second-round game. The party ended in stunning fashion for four-time champion Italy, which finished last in an opening-round group for the first time. Never have the previous World Cup finalists both failed to advance to the next tournament when both qualified. France, which lost to Italy on penalty kicks for the 2006 title, went out earlier this week in Group A.
