59 to 59

WIMBLEDON, England - On and on and on, and on some more, they played — longer than anyone ever had before. And still there was no winner.

John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and Nicolas Mahut of France were tied at 59-59 in the fifth set at Wimbledon after exactly 10 hours of action when play was suspended because of darkness Wednesday night. It is by far the longest match in terms of games or time in the century-plus history of tennis.

“Nothing like this will ever happen again. Ever,” Isner said.

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WIMBLEDON, England — The top players took care of business on the big courts at Wimbledon, then found themselves immersed in the drama unfolding on little Court 18.

"Unreal," Andy Roddick tweeted.

"Absolutely amazing," Roger Federer said.

"It's longer than a marathon," Venus Williams said.

The match between John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and Nicolas Mahut of France lasted so long it was suspended because of darkness — for the second night in a row. After 10 hours of play, 881 points and 193 aces over two days, the fifth set was at 59-all.

It kept going because neither player could break the other.

"He's serving fantastic. I'm serving fantastic," Isner said. "That's really all there is to it."

The electronic scoreboard froze and then went blank, perhaps from the fatigue of trying keeping up with the longest match in the sport's history. The Wimbledon website also lost track of the score.

Following an overnight suspension, the match resumed Wednesday at the start the fifth set. More than seven hours later, there was still no winner.

"Nothing like this will ever happen again," Isner said. "Ever."

They were to resume Thursday, still tucked away on Court 18, while Queen Elizabeth II was expected in the Royal Box on Centre Court for her first visit to Wimbledon since 1977.

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Isner finally prevails after 11 hours and 5 minutes, 70-68.