2011 Wimbledon

Nicolas Mahut, appropriate, congratulates John Isner following the American won their first-round encounter in straight units. Photo: Tom Jenkins for Guardian

They came from all corners – at the least in the elbow-room-only press seats – to witness less a match between the world No47 and globe No94 as a sui generis sporting oddity. John Isner versus Nicolas Mahut, or Isner-Mahut II: The much faster Sequel was, or even the match associated with trip to Wimbledon, then undoubtedly the most notable of happenings, possibly even the essential excitedly awaited conference between two journeyman middle-rankers in history of this venerable competition.

In case Isner went out a very nearly bathetically straightforward 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 champion, 149 games and the full nine hours smaller than last time around. There have been only flickering echoes of just last year's epic around Court Three. Albeit, it was in keeping with the slow-burn crisis of the popular meeting between these two guys on legal 18 last year – a three-day grande bouffe settled 70-68 in Isner's favour in a hall-of-mirrors last set – this rematch started not with a crackle of expectation but with the essential low-key of greets.

No dramatic entry, no wall surface of sound from the sunglassed late-shift spectators. Rather this not likely dual work – the craning Isner in the shrugging baggies, and also the scurrying Isner, a ferrety, werewolf-ish figure – took towards courtroom to a muted ripple of applause.

It had been maybe clear that there must certanly be a little caginess between these two titans for the marathon match. Strangely enough, the warm-up here had been the first occasion they will have experienced one another across the net since final summertime.

There is, it is said, a-1percent likelihood that Isner-Mahut would come out of the cap as a first-round draw this year. Which may be the actual situation, but as Isner thick-edged Mahut's opening serve in to the stand behind him and therefore familiar flailing, triple-kneed, double-elbowed gait emerged flooding back like a buried recessive memory, additionally seemed in some way unavoidable that we should be right back here once more.

It appeared fitted that Isner-Mahut II should be staged from the brand-new Court Three, a self-contained mini-amphitheatre using environment of a bolt-on SW19 conservatory. All things considered, Isner-Mahut I was a basically self-contained crisis: likeably zany, an unchoreographed mini-marvel associated with the straight back courts (whatever your tennis-tolerance, you simply cannot neglect to be relocated by 70-68) but nonetheless really a freak match, an unrepeatable one-off.