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SPORTS Saturday 14 July 2018

Anderson tops Isner 26-24 at

Wimbledon; other SF suspended

By HOWARD FENDRICH Because Nadal and don doesn’t use tiebreak-
AP Tennis Writer Djokovic didn’t begin play- ers in the fifth set for men,
LONDON (AP) — To say that ing until after 8 p.m., the or third set for women, so
Kevin Anderson won this retractable roof above the there’s nothing to prevent
interminable Wimbledon main stadium was shut be- a match from continuing
semifinal, and that John Is- tween the matches and ad infinitum. Both Isner and
ner lost it, didn’t really seem the arena’s artificial lights Anderson said they’d like
fair. To Anderson, anyway. were turned on. Now they’ll to see that change.
They had played on and come back Saturday to fig- At one point in the fifth South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, right, is congratulated by John
on, through 6 1/2 hours of ure out who will face An- set, a spectator shouted, Isner of the United States, right, after their men’s singles semifinals
ho-hum hold after ho-hum derson in the final, resuming “Come on, guys! We want match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London,
Friday July 13, 2018.
hold, during the second- at 1 p.m. local time, under to see Rafa!” Associated Press
longest match in the history the roof. The 6-foot-8 Anderson and
of a tournament that be- The women’s final between 6-10 Isner go way back, to
gan in 1877, all the way un- Serena Williams and An- their college days, Isner at
til the never-ending serving gelique Kerber will then Georgia, Anderson at Illi-
marathon did, finally, end follow. That creates an nois. In the pros, Isner had
at 26-24 in the fifth set Fri- unusual situation: Instead won eight of 11 previous
day, with Anderson claim- of a standard 2 p.m. start, matchups. But this one was
ing the most important of Williams and Kerber won’t as close as can be.
the 569 points — the last. know exactly when their There wasn’t a whole lot
So when Anderson left Cen- match will begin. of intrigue, or momentum
tre Court, well aware that Anderson will certainly ap- shifts. The serving, though,
his 7-6 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-7 (9), preciate the chance to was something else. Isner
6-4, 26-24 victory earned put his feet up ahead of pounded his at up to 142
him the chance to win his Sunday’s final, while Nadal mph; Anderson reached
first Grand Slam title at age and Djokovic — who have 136 mph. They combined
32, the South African said: a combined 29 Grand Slam for 102 aces: 53 by Isner, 49
“At the end, you feel like titles between them, five at by Anderson.
this is a draw between the Wimbledon — push each “The effort they both put in
two of us.” other some more. and the performance and
He continued: “John’s such Anderson’s fifth set alone the guts, the way they com-
a great guy, and I really lasted nearly 3 hours as his peted — a lot to be proud
feel for him, because if I’d semifinal became a test of of,” said Justin Gimelstob,
been on the opposite side, endurance more than skill. one of Isner’s coaches.
I don’t know how you can “He stayed the course in- Both failed to seize early
take that, playing for so credibly well,” said the No. opportunities. Isner wasted
long and coming up short.” 9 seed Isner, a 33-year-old a set point in the opener.
Only one match at Wimble- American playing in his first Anderson served for the
don ever lasted longer: Is- major semifinal. “Just disap- third at 5-3, got broken,
ner’s 2010 first-round victory pointed to lose. I was pretty and then had a pair of set
over Nicolas Mahut, the close to making a Grand points in that tiebreaker,
longest match in tennis his- Slam final and it didn’t double-faulting one away.
tory. It went more than 11 happen.” Anderson finally By the latter stages, with
hours over three days and earned the must-have, go- break chances so rare,
finished 70-68 in the fifth on ahead service break with murmurs would spread
Court 18, which now bears the help of a point in which through the Centre Court
a plaque commemorating the right-hander tumbled stands whenever a game’s
it. Friday’s contest lasted to his backside, scrambled returner got to love-15 or
so long, the day’s second back to his feet and hit a love-30.
semifinal didn’t finish. shot lefty. Could we be about to see
Novak Djokovic was lead- “That definitely brings a the sixth and last break of a
ing Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, smile to my face,” said match that would end up
7-6 (9) in a compelling Anderson, the runner-up with 90 holds?
showdown filled with en- to Nadal at last year’s Repeatedly, the answer
tertaining points that was U.S. Open. “At that stage, was, of course, “No,” even
suspended as soon as the you’re just trying to fight in when Anderson held break
third set concluded at just every single moment, and I points at 7-all, 10-all and
past 11 p.m., the curfew was like, ‘Just get up!’” 17-all. The 10-all game end-
at the All England Club. The No. 8 seed Ander- ed with Isner hitting a fore-
Some people in the stands son eliminated eight-time hand passing winner on the
booed the decision to halt Wimbledon champion run to hold, then letting his
the match after a fantastic Roger Federer in a 13-11 momentum carry him di-
tiebreaker in which Nadal fifth set in the quarterfinals rectly to his sideline chair,
wasted three set points at Wednesday. Between that where he plopped himself
6-5, 7-6 and 8-7. Djokovic and the energy-sapper down.
cashed in on his second against Isner, it’s hard to By the end, he was looking
when Nadal’s backhand imagine how Anderson exhausted, leaning over to
found the net after an will have much left for his rest a hand on a knee be-
18-stroke exchange. second Slam final. Wimble- tween points.q