In a battle of tennis behemoths, the matchup between big serving American John Isner and heavy hitting Croat Marin Cilic was suspended due to bad lighting at a fifth set score of ten games all. After playing a tough five setter in his previous match against Berankis, the top ranked Croat would have to overcome the physical toll of his last match to overcome his foe in a quick fashion. However, after the first two sets of power tennis- both going to tiebreaks and neither player being able to break his opponent, it was clear the fans were going to be watching a long match.
Featuring two of the biggest servers in the game, fans were expecting the match to feature many quick points and nearly as many aces. From the first game of the match, it was evident that this would be the case; Isner was able to close out the open game in a little more than fifty seconds with three aces. Continuing as expected, both players faced few break point opportunities and managed to come up with clutch shots when necessary. The first, second and fourth set tiebreaks proceeded similarly as well, with one minibreak being the difference in claiming the tiebreaks. The only hiccup in the players’ service games happened when the American, seemed a bit fatigued in the third set and managed to give up his service game. Cilic took advantage of the situation, consolidated the break and closed out the third set. Despite this, Isner was able to regroup and take the fourth set in a tiebreak.
Heading into the fifth set, the match seems to be up for grabs for either player. Regardless, one of these two big servers will have to be broken for the match to conclude. Isner and Cilic have been participants in the two longest matches in Wimbledon history, so it might take a while for the outcome to be revealed. The match will be played on court one. The winner will play American Dennis Kudla in the next round.