Almost 7 hours...

Kevin Anderson (ATP-8) has fought past the American John Isner (ATP-10) to the final at Wimbledon. After the longest 1 / 2nd final at All Englands Club, Anderson reached the final with 26-24.

If you were able to suppress a yawn during the 7th Tour stage, you might not have survived this primal semi-final between Kevin Anderson (ATP-8) and John Isner (ATP-10).

For Anderson, a 2nd Grand Slam final was at stake (after US Open 2017), Isner never reached a Grand Slam on a Grand Slam (US Open 2011).

The latter we know from 2010, when he and the Frenchman Nicolas Mahut played the longest tennis match in history. The party lasted no less than 11 hours, with the decisive set (in which traditionally no tiebreak was played) ending on 70-68.

With that in mind, a very nice comment on television was commentator Dirk Gerlo saw the storm long before the start of the game: "These storage guns are capable of finishing each set with a tiebreak".

Tough playing Anderson takes a final set

And so it happened, because in set 1, 2 and 3 the tiebreak always had to decide on the set wins. The first set went to the 32-year-old South African with 7-6 (8/6), the second 6-7 (5/7)) and the third (6-7 (9/11) were a prey for Isner.

Set 3 also brought a scoop in this semi-final, because for the first time a player was able to grab a storage game from the other. But Isner's euphoria lasted only for a short while, because Anderson could immediately force a rebreak.

After the loss in that third set, the South African stood with his back against the wall, because when set 4 went to Isner, his Wimbledon dream was over. Anderson started well, however, as he managed to break Isner in a 2-2 score.

The American immediately forced the re-break, but when Isner could not win his storage game again, it was over. Anderson needed 3 set points, but eventually won: 6-4. After 3.5 hours of competition we were able to prepare ourselves for a marathon-lock set.

Ace, Ace, Ace and Anderson win

And that release solved all expectations. Both players delivered ace after ace, and won a save after a save, waiting for that one break that would give them a final ticket.

At 7-7 it was the first time. Anderson came to breakpoint (30-40), but John Isner worked that way with, how could it be otherwise, an ace. Also at 10-10 Anderson got a breaking point (and thus a virtual match point), but even now the South African fetched sail.

Then Isner started to make a decent serve and volley-tennis out of his hat, but he did not really hurt the South African. At Isner, fatigue began to stagnate now, while Anderson looked much fresher.

At 24-24 that physical superiority finally translated to the scoreboard. At 0-40, Isner was able to back off, but soon the resounding cry sounded: "Anderson break". The South African then remained aggressive, forced 2 match balls, and finally pulled the marathon race towards him.

Longest semi-finals ever, Nadal and Djokovic are still starting

This match was the longest semi-final ever at Wimbledon. The match lasted 6 hours and 35 minutes. However, the legendary match between Mahut and Isner in 2010 remained far out of the question because they covered more than 11 hours.