fo final first?

Steve - I think the other statistic that needs to be brought up, and that people seem to forget when they think that this wasn't a great, quality match, is that both Mahut and Isner had something like 220-240 winners each and only 45-50 UFEs. Even removing their absurd ace counts, that's well over +100 winners:UFE, making it an amazingly clean match. THere have been straight set 2 set matches that had more errors than these two did over 3 days.

So yes, both sucked on service return (Andy Roddick isn't too hot either or he'd prob have >1 major) and their movement isn't terrific (Querrey is oodles quicker than Isner, as he proved when he beat Murray). But I think it would do a great disservice to these players to deride their unthinkable battle as nothing more than a service contest. This was some of the best tennis either of them have ever played, even more incredibly considering the dehydration and exhaustion each must have been enduring, particularly Isner.

Now I have NO idea what you're going to post as the best match of the year - my two picks, this and Murray/Nadal YEC, were 2nd and 3rd. I can't think of a men's match that surpassed any of these, and while there were excellent women's matches to choose from, I can't think of any that were higher quality throughout other than perhaps Dementieva v. Stosur. I suspect you're going to pick Schiavone's FO win, simple for the magnificence and joy epitomized by Francesca seizing her moment and playing the best tennis of her life in the biggest match of her life.

Anything else in the #1 spot would just be strange.

amazing match but a special congrates to the commentator,Ronald McIntosh.it was his first ever tennis match he had covered,not bad eh,greatest touranment in the world,historic match.he will be remembered forever

#1 might be a doubles match, though nothing comes to mind immediately.

Well put, Steve. The Battle -- and that is probably why James Scott Connors and John McEnroe were among the most vocal in praise of the efforts of Isner and Mahut. Two battling Irishmen showing full appreciation for the meaningfullness of a match that by all acccounts excpet the one that mattered most, was meaningless. It matered to the players, and that's all that really matters, isn't it.

This was great sport, simply great. It caught *everyone's* eye, tennis fan and casual newspaper reader alike. Can we say that about *any* 3 set match?

No, it won't happen again, and because it won't we have to be careful about using it as a reason to keep 5 set matches. But they do give us an ebb and flow no 3 set match can provide. They do give us a unique sporting crucible that oftentimes, though not always, gives us superior theater and inspiration. We should not throw that away in the name of marketing and (excuse me, but...) growing the game.

Sorry , Tignor, but for me that was the match of the year by far.

In terms of quality,thrill and great play from both side of the net..Dementieva-Stosur i way better than Stosur-Schiavone was.The only thing that could put that match on top was Schiavone´s joy of winning Grand Slam title,but match of the year,when you look at the matches left is Dementieva-Stosur

I'm really pleased you have this match as number 2. Even number one would have not been odd.
Even during the fifth set itself there was something very vintage about the match: the Wimbledon background, the anti-grand, so cosy an atmosphere, the slightly James Dean moody look Mahut carries about him...the fresh-faced boy Isner from the New World....who else could have won the match but him...it was all perfect...the number crunchers got bored, the bored crowd got interested, the "small" guys got the big scene....I loved it....

It also represented why it is good to have a drop shot.

Steve, great article about a fantastic match. I remember watching it with my mouth wide open in total disbelief.

For those of you who are bored with the off-season, check out my "racket rap" :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkRLxP4nCUk

You ask:

"OK, why did this match become such a big deal, at least in the U.S.? Why did Isner read the Top 10 list on Letterman and why was it featured as news—real news, not sports news—on the networks? It was more widely talked about here than even the Nadal-Federer 2008 Wimbledon final. What was the fascination? It had to do with the basic reasons we watch sports in the first place."

There's one very important reason you failed to mention: because one of the players was American. Do you honestly think that the same match, but played by Berdych, Verdasco, Troicki, for instance, would have got the same coverage in thee US?

We tennis fans would have been equally thrilled by a match like this, no matter who the players were. And for the reasons you mention. I don't think the same goes for the American media.

overrated match. embarrassing for isner to take so long to beat mahut.

What made this match go on and on was the existence of the no-final-set-TB rule for Wimbledon moreso than the fact that it was a 3/5 rather than a 2/3 match. Apply the same NFSTB rule to the matches in a tourney with 2/3 matches, and you just might have the same phenomenon occur -- or an even longer match, heaven help us! :)

As I indicated yesterday when we were speculating about Steve's upcoming "Best of 2010" selections, I'd have that match at the top of my "Most Amazing" list for 2010, and I wouldn't even limit my list to tennis matches; other sporting events would be welcome. But among best tennis matches of 2010 ...nah!

Maybe, it's just a question of semantics with me, Steve. :)

Sometimes it's hard to say anything interesting about something that's supposed to be interesting. That's how I felt about Steve's article, that's how I felt a bit about this match too.

I think henin vs dementieva will be match no 1

I would have to agree with henin/dementieva or dementieva/stosur. I regret to say that I didn't see henin/dementieva live but I was watching the highlights in Elena's "last word" write-up and they were truly jaw-dropping, point after point after point.

And I remember dementieva/stosur vividly. That match was absolutely riveting from beginnning to end. The defensive and offensive shots on display were mind-boggling. I think it was the highest quality women's match I've ever watched live. Also, the tension and drama were so palpable; this quality particularly impressed me, considering I wasn't that attached to either player.

As a matter of fact, it seems wrong that both of these matches aren't in the top ten. I would certainly rate both of them higher than Llodra/Soderling.

'I don't know the total points won by each, except that Mahut won more, which means that he has won by far the most points in a single match in history."

Mahut got 502 points. Isner: 478.

"There were the stats, of course. The fifth-set score itself, while it ascended, was eye-popping. There was the called-for-darkness-twice factor (how would this match have played out at the U.S. Open, I wonder)"

It would end in a tie-break. lol

While last year I agree completely with Steve's top 10 rankings this year (except for the riduculous inclusion of Oudin/Sharapova and ANYTHING involving Taylor Dent, pure US nepotism right there, when the 3rd best women's match was the amazing battle of Venus v. Safina)I find myself disagreeing with the order of matches this year. In my mind Isner/Mahut is just untouchable as #1, because of the quality of play from both players, as I mentioned the winner to UFE ration even excluding service aces was unreal. Nadal v. Murray YEC was #2 for me and #3 would be Henin v. Clijsters Brisbane for the amazing rallies and drama.

As for the single greatest match played by a player on either tour, the #1 for the WTA was Schiavone's FO final, and the #1 for the men for me was Melzer's destruction of Nadal in Shangai - no male player, even at his peak, was beating Melzer that day.

I truly hope Dementieva v. Stosur gets the top spot. Agree with Marko337

Youzhny/Gasquet or Tsonga/Almagro AO for number 1!!!

@Northernboy:

I don't remember which Taylor Dent match Steve selected last year, but if it was his second round match against Ivan Navarro at the US Open, that match would make my cut for 2009 and 2010 combined. I still remember the exhilaration and excitement of that match. And I'm not an American as you can see by my previous post.

There must be a copy of that match somewhere. An absolute classic. Please watch it. You won't regret it.

i love the no tb...they should def keep it but this match was ridiculously long

I felt more sorry for Mahut at the end of that match than I did for Roddick in the Wimbledon final last year with Federer. Heartbreaker for both.

What never gets mentioned was that in the deciding third set of his second round match in the qualifiers Mahut and Alex Bogdanovic had equalled the previous record for the longest set, ever: 24-22.

On top of that, in his 3rd round match in the qualifiers Mahut had to come back from two sets down.

Q1 Dancevic 6-3 6-0
Q2 Bogdanovic 3-6 6-3 24-22
Q3 Koubek 6-7 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4

Mahut's determination to play proper athletic serve and volley tennis through the 1000 points of this match earns him, in my not remotely humble opinion, a Wild Card to every grass court tournament for the next decade.

ps re: the British commentator. This match was this guy's first ever tennis match as a commentator. Prior to this he'd been working in boxing.

And oh, one other thing: this match virtually crippled Isner. Mahut played four sets of doubles against Fleming & Skupski after this, on the same court.

It's true that this match could not have occurred as it did without the no-tiebreak rule. But if such a rule were all it took, we'd have many such matches. Instead we just have the one. So is it special? Obviously.

As for why it was so compelling, I think Steve's post covers it. Isner and Mahut weren't playing for obvious glories, but for reasons entirely internal to themselves. And the longer it went on the more they had to go on.

Yolita,
Steve did pick Dent vs Navarro 5 set thriller in his Top 10 for 2009 as both players S&V consistently with the stands packed at the Grandstand

Hi Yolita, - re your post 12/23 07.04pm Steve DOES "mention" the American-ness factor, in the para after the one you quote he lists the contributing factors i) stats, ii) the double "darkness" calls, iii) for Americans, Isner's participation and more important than those... iv), v) & vi) the battle

so he gets it!! Maybe he hasn't made it as important as you see it here?

The whole match was just one of those brilliant memorable moments for me. :) Hope Wimbledon never goes in for 5th set TBs.

Looking forward to finding what is #1 on the list!

Happy Christmas and happy holidays to all.

"Was Isner-Mahut a colossal contest for the ages, or an exhibition in the mundane that should hasten the advent of a fifth-set tiebreaker at Wimbledon? Considering that I’ve ranked it No. 2 for the year, you can guess my opinion."

You are maybe being more ambiguous here than you mean to be. I would think that if you truly bought into the epic nature of the match, you would have no choice but to rank it No. 1. No.2 suggests that the dullness played a major factor in your opinion.

I don't know what you're going to select as your 'match of the year', Steve, but for me, it had to be the Wimby semifinal, Rafa vs Andy Murray. I just thought that match had such high quality of play, not to mention how important it was to each player. So tense on the court. Amazing crowd and atmosphere. Best in my book, anyway.

Cheers and Merry Christmas to you!

Marron - all of Murray and Nadal's clashes this year were exceptionally high quality, even the AO QF which was a great match until the 3rd set when Rafa retired. Still think the YEC one was better, as Murray caved badly at the end of all 3 sets at Wimby.

I still don't think the Dent Navarro match rated anything other than an honourable mention, particularly last year which was pretty much the best year for men's matches in the Hx of the game. But it was interesting to watch for style, reminded me of the Harrison/Strakhovsky match. But Venus/Safina (or even Kim/Serena) should have been in over Oudin/Sharapova.

LOL Steve you're really dragging this announcement of the final match out aren't you? Drama queen. I agree with Davers though - I don't think any match can be compared to Isner/Mahut this year or ever, and not having it as #1 is lame.

Now I know that Steve is a perfect objectiv tennis writer.
Djokovic vs Federer in US Open semifinal is the match of the year!!!

Match of the year: Serbia's Davis Cup win!

It is going to be Troicki/Zimonjic - Clement/Llodra. It would be nice.

An extraordinary match, to be sure...but so painful to watch after a while. I'm glad that the two men will share in the spoils of history, though.

lovely post stefe...

Well, in my opinion ,Isner and Mahut alredy played a amazing game. Though their return serve or movement aren`t as good as other top players' ,I think they already use their best weapon to fight with each other,Mahut`s backhand and Isner` serve.You can`t ask every player has the same performance ,or the tennis game won`t be so amazing and attractive.
I think this game will be a epic is about their spirit and the problems they facing ,which caused by such a long game ,like dehydration and loss of strength.

So, I think they might not play a game like Federer VS Nadal,but they played a epic created by their own.

Lokking thorugh the list ofplayers at Hopman cup I was really pleased to see Mahut play for France and when I clicked on his name I was sad to read that his mum died and left her four boys and a girl motherless (it doesn't say at what age).
Poor Mahut, I can now explain that sad expression that always lingers on his face, and I can understand better why he was so deeply devastated when he lost The match.
Nicolas, thy will be done!

Isner leads Mahut 10,123 - 10,122. Mahut to serve.

The Battle. A perfect name for that particular match, but also for any siblings who played sports during those endless summer months. There was always a next game all day long. Games played with a fierceness, that I wonder how my brother and I remain friends. Steve, thanks for reminding me why that match was so fascinating: it reminded me of the essence of competition. How I long for those days.