Isner Needs Nearly Four Hours to Dismiss Harrison From Roland Garros
May 31, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
American John Isner played an epic five-setter against fellow countryman Ryan Harrison at the 2013 French Open Friday, pulling off a 5-7 6-7 (7) 6-3 6-1 8-6 in three hours 50 minutes. A year to the day that he lost to Paul-Henri Mathieu in a 76-game battle, the most ever played in a men’s match at Roland Garros, Isner was able to hold off Harrison. After sealing the win, Isner was bent double after another brutal encounter and relieved after ending a six-match losing sequence in matches going to five sets. It was Isner’s fourth win in five encounters with Harrison.
"Just winning a five-set match is extremely satisfying, as I’d exited every Grand Slam last year in five sets, every single one," said Isner.
Isner next faces Tommy Haas next, a 7-6(2), 6-3, 7-5 winner over American Jack Sock. Isner leads 3-2 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head series over Haas.
Isner holds the overall all-time record for the longest professional match in history when he beat France’s Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68 at Wimbledon in 2010. The match lasted 11 hours and five minutes.
