LONDON — Kevin Anderson won the longest Centre Court match in history and earned a chance to try to collect his first Grand Slam championship, edging John Isner 7-6 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-7 (9), 6-4, 26-24 at Wimbledon in a 6-hour, 36-minute marathon between two big servers on Friday.
READ MORE: Canadian Eugenie Bouchard ousted in second round at Wimbledon
The fifth set alone lasted nearly 3 hours as the semifinal became a test of endurance more than skill. Anderson finally earned the must-have, go-ahead service break with the help of a point in which the right-hander tumbled to his backside, scrambled back to his feet and hit a shot lefty.
Get daily National news
Only one match at the All England Club has been longer: Isner’s record-setting 2010 first-round victory over Nicolas Mahut, which went more than 11 hours over three days and finished 70-68 in the fifth.
WATCH: Roger Federer beats Marin Cilic to win eighth Wimbledon title in 2017
Anderson, a 32-year-old from South Africa, eliminated eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in a 13-11 fifth set in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
Now the No. 8 seed Anderson will face Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final. Nadal and Djokovic had to wait most of Friday to get on court for the second semifinal.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.