London:
Tennis history was rewritten at Wimbledon on Wednesday as Nicolas Mahut and John Isner shattered the record for the longest-ever match - and still could not finish.
A string of tennis records were blown away as the players came off court at 59-59 in the final set, having slugged it out for around 10 hours when play was suspended as they ran out of daylight.
"Nothing like this will ever happen again, ever," said an exhausted Isner, the American 23rd seed.
Tennis fans packed out the 782-capacity Court 18, with people lining the roof of the Wimbledon broadcasting centre several deep, and straining to peer through any gaps they could to catch a glimpse of the epic match.
The unfinished fifth set itself was longer than the previous longest match ever played.
That match took six hours and 33 minutes. The shattered record was set at the 2004 French Open, when Fabrice Santoro beat fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 16-14.
"It is reasonable to say that it is the longest official tennis match in history," International Tennis Federation spokesman Nick Imison told AFP, adding that it was certainly the longest in the Open Era records.
"There are not any records to suggest otherwise."
The pair started playing on Tuesday, when they managed to complete four sets before sunset stopped them the first time around.
Isner won the first set 6-4, Mahut won the second 6-3 and the third 7-6 (9/7), before Isner won the fourth set 7-6 (7/3).
They will now have to try to finish the match on Thursday, when Queen Elizabeth II is set to visit the All England Club.
A string of other records also tumbled in the duel.
Grass-court specialist Mahut and Isner beat the record for the most games in a match, which had stood at 112 in singles and 122 in doubles.
The singles record was set here at Wimbledon in the first round in 1969.
Pancho Gonzales beat his fellow American Charlie Pasarell 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9.
That match lasted five hours and 12 minutes -- now relegated to the third-longest ever singles match at Wimbledon.
The previous longest singles match at the All England Club in terms of time was five hours and 28 minutes, set in 1989 in a second-round contest between Greg Holmes and Todd Witsken of the United States.
And the former record for the longest match of any kind at Wimbledon was six hours and nine minutes, set in the 2006 men's doubles quarter-finals.
The record number of aces served by one player was also broken by both players.
Croatian Ivo Karlovic held the previous mark, having hit 78 aces in a Davis Cup match in 2009.
The previous record longest set at Wimbledon was 62 games, set in a men's doubles match in 1968.
The winner will face Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker in the second round. De Bakker beat Colombia's Santiago Giraldo 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 16-14 in another marathon match carried over from Tuesday.
Mahut is no stranger to epic encounters, having gone through one just to qualify for Wimbledon.
In the second of the three qualifying rounds last week, Mahut beat British number two Alex Bogdanovic 3-6, 6-3, 24-22.
Isner had match point at 59-58, but Mahut fired down an ace to take it back to deuce, before going on to win the game.
At 59-59 and 9:10pm (2010 GMT) with the light fading fast, match officials tried to suspend play, though Isner wanted to carry on.
Spectators yelled "We want more" on Court 18.
"Ladies and gentlemen, due to darkness, play is suspended," the umpire announced.
A drained Mahut said: "We played for too long."