Marathon fifth set smashes records

John Isner and Nicolas Mahut were obliterating Wimbledon records today in a marathon match on Court 18.

American Isner, the 23rd seed, and French grass-court specialist Mahut both broke the record for the number of aces served in a match at Wimbledon.

Croatian Ivo Karlovic previously held the record, having served 51 aces in a defeat to Italian Daniele Bracciali in 2005.

But with the scores level at 26-26 in the deciding set of their first-round tussle, which was halted last night at two sets all due to darkness, Isner had rained down 64 aces and Mahut had 58.

The decider was also the longest set ever played in a singles match at Wimbledon - with potentially a long way still to go as both men's serves held up.

As the clock ticked past 6pm, the match had become the longest ever in Grand Slam tennis, beating the previous mark of six hours and 33 minutes set by Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clement at the French Open in 2004.

Isner forced two match points with the score at 33-32 but Mahut batted those away with a run of thunderous serves to maintain the status quo.

With over seven hours gone, the pair remained locked at 36-36.