Three days.
11 hours.
Five minutes.
Yes, that’s right – a tennis match lasted that long.
Back in the first round of Wimbledon in 2010, big-server John Isner overcome gutsy baseliner Nicolas Mahut in a five-set thriller, with the decider stretching to an incredible 70-68 scoreline.
The match began on the famous Court 18 on Tuesday June 22 at 6:13pm, but due to fading light, play was suspended at two sets apiece before the start of the fifth at 9.07pm.
The following day, play resumed, at 2:05pm – with the record for the longest match being broken a few hours later at 5:45pm. Yet, still, the American-France duel couldn’t be settled as play was called off once again due to the ailing sun, at 9:09pm, with the final set tied at 59 games all.
That meant the drama extended to Thursday, June 24, at 3:40pm – with Isner finally breaking serve and then holding to win at 4:47pm (11 hours, five minutes).
Incredibly, the final set lasted eight hours, eleven minutes, while numerous other records were broken, such as a record 183 games being played in total and each player rattling down over a 100 aces.
It went down in the history books as the “eventual match”, with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club commemorating the encounter with a plaque beside the court.
Octo Finissimo Automatic A Third World Record for Bulgari
Bulgari is once again the spotlight, proudly presenting its third successive world record.
The Octo Finissimo Automatic is the slimmest ultra-thin self-winding watch on the market to date.
After introducing its Tourbillon in 2014 and the Minute Repeater in 2016, the Maison unveils its new creation featuring a total thickness of just 5.15mm, while its self-winding movement is just 2.23mm thick for a 40mm diameter.
The iconic Octo is once again pushing the boundaries of watchmaking feasibility.