Wimbledon witnessed a marathon match between eighth-seeded South African player, Kevin Anderson, and John Isner. The match was the "second longest ever Grand Slam singles," Times Live SA reported. In a marathon six hours and 35 minutes, Tennis fans and viewers watch the sets bounce around like science formula: 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (5/7), 6-7 (9/11), 6-4, 26-24. The match was played at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London.
Eight-seeded Anderson incidentally, is the first South African tennis player to reach a Wimbledon final in 97 years.
The last South African to reach the tennis finals at the famous venue was Brian Norton, back in 1921. Interestingly, this is not the first time that Isner has been involved in record-setting matches. According to Times Live, "he previously won the longest ever Grand Slam singles match against Nicolas Mahut, lasting 11 hours and five minutes over three days in the 2010 Wimbledon first round."
Wimbledon fans reacted on Twitter to Anderson's win
The Citizen news outlet noted the reactions on Twitter to Kevin Anderson's marathon Wimbledon match.
Many of them felt the game went on and on, seemingly forever. There was an element of boredom for those watching. In fact, it seems Kevin Anderson understands that marathon tennis games can get boring. Citizen noted he said in his post-game interview, that "the rules for fifth sets need to change." Twitter user @FanboyCarp posted, "For the love of God, SOMEONE WIN ALREADY! (Preferably Kevin Anderson)."
Another user, @hollykruse expressed similar sentiments, writing, "Six hours ago, I was rooting for fellow Illini Kevin Anderson to win. Now I'm just rooting for someone to win."
Meanwhile, Derek Watts, a well-known South African Investigative TV anchor for M-Net, posted his thoughts about the marathon game.
"Made a big decision. Still going to watch @Wimbledon if @kandersen13 is on court against @JohnIsner when #WorldCupFinal starts. Keep going Kevin!"
The semi-finals in the men's tennis have not yet finished as Nadal's game was suspended
The Wimbledon men's finals will be between Anderson and either Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal. Their match was halted on Friday due to "the tournament's 11 p.m. local time curfew in England," according to ESPN. Their match will continue today (July 14), at 1 PM. This will be followed by the women's final between Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber.
ESPN noticed another interesting coincidence. They noted that the last time a men's semifinal was played on a Saturday was between Nadal and Djokovic in 2007.
The match will take off with Djokovic sitting in the lead with 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9).
Anderson has a chance at his first Grand Slam championship
Getting through to the finals means that Anderson now has a chance at tucking away his first Grand Slam championship. Oddschecker has him down at a 5/1 chance of winning the Wimbledon men's tennis final. Nadal is sitting at 3/1 and Djokovic at 4/6. A
The men's Wimbledon final will take place on Sunday, July 15th. If the match goes on with Anderson giving his opponent across the net another marathon match, fans who also want to watch the FIFA 2018 finals may have to choose between the two major events. Wimbledon finals start at 1 PM (UK time.) The FIFA game starts at 4 PM. Because of the two events, BBC1 and BBC2 will switch coverage. Those who want to watch the full livestreaming match can watch online via the BBC Sports website, according to Radio Times.