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John Isner during practice in London in 2015. Credit: Diliff/Wikipedia, https://bit.ly/2mi6RGI, https://bit.ly/1E6HPMf

Six hours, thirty-six minutes.

That's how long it took for South Africa's Kevin Anderson to fend off Greensboro native John Isner in Friday's Wimbledon semi-finals at the All England Tennis Club.

Coming into the match, Kevin Anderson was riding the high of having just defeated Roger Federer, the world's No. 2-ranked player. Meanwhile, Isner, playing some of the best tennis of his career, was hoping to be the first American since Andy Roddick in 2009 to make a Grand Slam final.

In previous head-to-head matchups, Isner held the edge 8-3. At 6 feet 10 inches, his serve is one of the fastest in the game, reaching speeds of more than 140 mph. But Anderson is 6 feet 8 inches, with a thundering serve of his own.

The rallies in Friday's match were typically short, with the servers dominating play, and each of the first three sets went into tie-breakers, favoring Isner. In the fourth set, Anderson managed to return several of Isner’s huge first serves to edge back, 6-4.

But the story of the day was the epic, nearly 3-hour-long final set, an outlier among Grand Slam events since Wimbledon does not allow fifth set tiebreaker games.

The players continued to trade massive serves as the game count climbed to five, then ten, then 20 games apiece as Isner began to fade. He was losing the longer rallies, his legs weakening after more than five hours on the court.

For his part, Anderson – even after his hard-fought victory over Federer two days before – appeared to be the fresher of the two. And after a dramatic game in which he broke Isner's serve, fell down, and even hit a forehand shot with his non-dominant hand, Anderson finally took the victory. The final score: 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 26-24.

At more than six-and-a-half hours, the match became an instant classic, and the longest ever on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

Anderson faces the winner of the other semi-final between the world's top-ranked player, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.

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Injury forced John Isner to drop out of the 2013 Winston-Salem Open after wining the event the two previous seasons.

WFDD Photo by Paul Garber

For John Isner, the Winston-Salem Open is as much a homecoming as a tennis tournament. The Greensboro native has won the tournament twice, in 2011 and 2012.

As of Monday Isner was ranked number 12 in the world, making him currently the highest ranked American male tennis player and the only American among the world’s top 60.

Isner says that being the highest ranked U.S. player makes him a fan favorite during American tournaments, and the Winston-Salem Open is no different. Isner has never lost a match at the Winston-Salem Open, and he says fan support has played a big role.

Isner had planned to play in last year’s tournament but pulled out on the eve of the competition after experiencing pain in his hip flexor. The pain flared up during a tough, hard-fought loss to Rafael Nadal in the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati just before the start of the Winston-Salem Open.

Isner says he has since changed his workout routine. He’s spending more time in the gym and less on the courts to help make him stronger and avoid injuries. He’s confident he’ll be healthy for the Winston-Salem Open, and he’s hoping for a strong turnout from fans looking for world-class tennis action.

Last year’s Open champion, Austrian Jurgen Melzer, is also scheduled to return to this year’s competition. The Winston-Salem Open begins August 16th and has a total purse of $625,000.

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