Longest tennis match records

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

*Longest match by time played: Fabrice Santoro versus Arnaud Clement at the 2004 French Open, it lasted 6 hours and 33 minutes. The match began on May 24 2004 but was suspended for bad light. Santoro won the match 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(5), 3-6, 16-14. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/french04/news/story?id=1809151 ESPN - Santoro wins the longest match - Tennis ] ]

*Longest singles match by number of games: On June 26 1969 Pancho Gonzales beat Charlie Pasarell 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/1969/jun/26/wimbledon2003.tennis 26.06.1969: the longest Wimbledon singles match | Sport | The Guardian ] ] The match took place before tiebreaks were introduced.

*Longest doubles match by time played: A 2002 match between Lucas Arnold/David Nalbandian and Yevgeny Kafelnikov/Marat Safin lasted 6 hours and 20 minutes. [ [http://www.tennis-x.com/stats/tennisrecords.php Tennis Records and Statistics ] ]

*Longest fifth set: At Wimbledon 2007 Marcelo Melo/Andre Sa beat Paul Hanley/Kevin Ullyett 5-7, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (7), 28-26. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/wimbledon07/news/story?id=2925891 ESPN - Doubles match concludes with longest fifth set ever - Tennis ] ]

*Longest women's match by time played: The longest women's match occurred between Vicki Nelson-Dunbar and Jean Hepner in 1984 lasting 6 hours and 31 minutes with Nelson-Dunbar winning 6-4 7-6(11). One point lasted 643 strokes and 29 minutes. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2004/may/26/tennis.frenchopen20041?commentpage=1 French Open: Tennis record smashed after 6 hours | Sport | The Guardian ] ]

Wimbledon

*Longest men's singles final: On July 6 2008, between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The match lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes and was won by Nadal, 6-4 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(8) 9-7.
*Longest women's singles final: In the 2005 final Venus Williams beat Lindsay Davenport, 4-6, 7-6(4), 9-7, in 2 hrs 45 min. [ [http://www.all-about-tennis.com/wimbledonladiestrivia.html A Page About Wimbledon Ladies Trivia ] ]

French Open

Men's

*Longest match by time played: Six hours and 33 minutes, between Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement. The match began on May 24 2004 but was suspended for bad light. Santoro won the match 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(5), 3-6, 16-14.
*Longest match by number of games: The 1955 semi-final between Sturgress and McGregor lasted 76 games with Sturgess winning 10-8 7-9 8-6 5-7 9-7.
*Longest match by number of games since the introduction of the tiebreaker in 1973:
*#The 2nd round match between Agenor and Prinosil had a record 71 games. Agenor won, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 14-12.
*#The 2004 match between Fabrice Santoro versus Arnaud Clement, while breaking the record for longest match in terms of time equalled the record for games. The 71-game match was won by Santoro, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 16-14.

Women's

*Longest match by number of games: Before the introduction of the tiebreaker, the longest match was occurred in 1955 between Mortimer and Knode and lasted 38 games. Mortimer won, 2-6, 7-5, 10-8.

Davis Cup

*Longest match by number of games: At the 1973 American Zone Final, Stan Smith/Erik Van Dillen beat Patricio Cornejo/Jaime Fillol 7-9, 37-39, 8-6, 6-1, 6-3.

*Longest set by number of games: At the 1973 American Zone Final, Stan Smith/Erik Van Dillen and Patricio Cornejo/Jaime Fillol played a second set that took 76 games to complete. The final result was, 7-9, 37-39, 8-6, 6-1, 6-3.

ee also

*Tennis statistics
*Shortest tennis match records

References