Longest matches (best of 3): XXI century

Because the regular season is finished, I would like to post – I hope – interesting stats until the end of the year with my descriptive analyzes. I’m starting today with the longest ‘best of 3’ matches…

There is a noticeable tendency that the “best of three” matches in men’s tennis have become longer in the last decade. I think it is connected with two issues: the first one – the game has been slowed down by surfaces and balls; the second one – in regard of the first issue, players are more prone to avoid the serve & volley style comparing to their predecessors in the previous century, which shortens the rallies. We have longer rallies than 10-15 years ago, because in vast majority of encounters, players gain points on a regular basis after ground-stroke rallies. It is very important for the duration of long matches, which are prolonged to at least 30 games (a 3-setter is composed of 39 games at best, excluding the Olympic games where an advantage of two games is required in the decider). Look at the comparison of two matches played at Paris-Bercy in span of 20 years, with identical number of games, between the top servers of the different (informally) tennis eras.

1991: Pete Sampras d. Goran Ivanisevic 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(5)2 hours, 18 minutes (222 points played)
2011: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. John Isner 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(3)2 hours, 58 minutes (237 points played)

I mention the number of points played on both matches because it is also an important factor. Looking at the scoreline we do not know whether games were finishing quickly or many ‘deuces’ were required for the final outcome. We cannot forget about the pace of serving which also influences the duration of a tennis match. According to the rule book, a serving player has max. 25 seconds between finishing a point and initiating another one with the serve (20 seconds in majors). There are players like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic who violate this rule quite often, in this context is easier to understand why they overcame a record of the longest 3-setter which belonged as many as sixteen years to  Andrei Cherkasov and Andrea Gaudenzi (Tel Aviv 1993). Also the biggest specialist of marathon 3-setters, a former Olympic champion Nicolas Massu, used to lengthen the time between points on his own serve to maximum. And the last thing, a medical time-out which may not exceed three minutes, makes  an impact on the duration of a tennis match too, especially if taken by both competitors during a match. Below a list of the longest ‘best of 3 matches’ in this century, the three longest ones year by year:

2000
3 hrs. 10 min. Lleyton Hewitt d. Gaston Gaudio 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 (Miami)
3 hrs. 7 min. Magnus Norman d. Sjeng Schalken 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 (Stockholm)
3 hrs. 0 min. Juan Carlos Ferrero d. Fabrice Santoro 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 (Paris)
2001
3 hrs. 30 min.
Nicolas Massu d. Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 (Indian Wells)
3 hrs. 17 min. Nicolas Massu d. Marcelo Charpentier 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (Barcelona)
3 hrs. 13 min. David Sanchez d. Mariano Zabaleta 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 (Sopot)
2002
3 hrs. 26 min. Gustavo Kuerten d. Guillermo Coria 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 (Costa Do Saupe)
3 hrs. 19 min. Albert Costa d. Alex Corretja 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 (Barcelona)
3 hrs. 10 min. Nicolas Lapentti d. Didac Perez 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 (Barcelona)
2003
3 hrs. 36 min. Lleyton Hewitt d. Arnaud Clement 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 (Hamburg)
3 hrs. 33 min. Nicolas Massu d. Albert Costa 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 (Kitzbuhel)
3 hrs. 23 min. Arnaud Clement d. Karol Kucera 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 (Halle)
2004
3 hrs. 23 min. Nicolas Massu d. Massimo Dell’Acqua 6-7, 7-5, 6-3 (Rome)
3 hrs. 21 min. Guillermo Canas d. Marc Lopez 4-6, 7-6, 7-5 (Acapulco)
3 hrs. 10 min. Jerome Haehnel d. Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 (Metz)
2005
3 hrs. 25 min. Nicolas Massu d. Nicolas Lapentti 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 (Kitzbuhel)
3 hrs. 25 min. Felix Mantilla d. Marc Lopez 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 (Buenos Aires)
3 hrs. 20 min. Andreas Seppi d. Stefan Koubek 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 (Gstaad)
2006
3 hrs. 26 min. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez d. Carlos Berlocq 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 (Estoril)
3 hrs. 18 min. Jan Hernych d. Julien Benneteau 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 (Monte Carlo)
3 hrs. 18 min. Igor Andreev d. Andreas Seppi 7-6, 1-6, 6-4 (Dubai)
2007
3 hrs. 39 min. Juan Ignacio Chela d. Nicolas Massu 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 (Acapulco)
3 hrs. 38 min. Rafael Nadal d. Nikolay Davydenko 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 (Rome)
3 hrs. 21 min. Flavio Saretta d. Jiri Vanek 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 (Buenos Aires)
2008
3 hrs. 54 min. Rafael Nadal d. Carlos Moya 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 (Chennai)
3 hrs. 23 min. Gilles Simon d. Rafael Nadal 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (Madrid)
3 hrs. 21 min. Nicolas Kiefer d. Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 (Beijing – Olympics)
2009
4 hrs. 3 min. Rafael Nadal d. Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 (Madrid)
3 hrs. 29 min. Nicolas Lapentti d. Marat Safin 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 (Monte Carlo)
3 hrs. 21 min. Nicolas Massu d. Eduardo Schwank 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 (Indian Wells)
2010
3 hrs. 25 min. Stanislas Wawrinka d. Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 (Belgrade)
3 hrs. 25 min. Nicolas Massu d. Ryan Sweeting 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 (Houston)
3 hrs. 22 min. Novak Djokovic d. Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 (Dubai)
2011
3 hrs. 41 min. Carlos Berlocq d. Blaz Kavcic 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 (Umag)
3 hrs. 38 min. Viktor Troicki d. Alex Bogomolov Jr. 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 (Moscow)
3 hrs. 38 min. Rafael Nadal d. Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 (Cincinnati)
2012
3 hrs. 48 min. Martin Klizan d. Mikhail Youzhny 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 (St. Petersburg)
3 hrs. 22 min. Tommy Haas d. David Nalbandian 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 (Cincinnati)
3 hrs. 21 min. Andreas Seppi d. Stanislas Wawrinka 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 (Rome)
2013
3 hrs. 26 min. Martin Alund d. Markus Eriksson 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 (Bastad)
3 hrs. 17 min. Federico Delbonis d. Fernando Verdasco 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 (Hamburg)
3 hrs. 6 min. Grigor Dimitrov d. Novak Djokovic 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 (Madrid)
2014
3 hrs 20 min. Andy Murray d. Tommy Robredo 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 (Valencia)
3 hrs 18 min. Rafael Nadal d. Gilles Simon 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 (Rome)
3 hrs 13 min. Roberto Carballes d. Joao Sousa 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 (Casablanca)
2015
3 hrs 20 min. Marcel Granollers d. Gael Monfils 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 (Madrid)
3 hrs 12 min. Fabio Fognini d. Federico Delbonis 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 (Rio de Janeiro)
3 hrs 10 min. Gilles Simon d. Marcel Granollers 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 (Nottingham)
2016
3 hrs 38 min. Andy Murray d. Milos Raonic 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 (London)
3 hrs 28 min. Pablo Cuevas d. Rafael Nadal 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 (Rio de Janeiro)
3 hrs 20 min. Pablo Cuevas d. Daniel Gimeno 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 (Monte Carlo)
2017
3 hrs 12 min. Albert Ramos d. Guido Pella 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 (Buenos Aires)
3 hrs 10 min. Roger Federer d. Nick Kyrgios 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 (Miami)
3 hrs 4 min. Leonardo Mayer d. Albert Ramos 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 (Hamburg)
2018
3 hrs 39 min. Thiago Monteiro d. Alessandro Giannessi 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 (Quito)
3 hrs 19 min. Mikhail Kukushkin – Marton Fucsovics 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 (Vienna)
3 hrs 12 min. Peter Polansky d. Marius Copil 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 (Indian Wells)
3 hrs 12 min. Laslo Djere d. Paolo Lorenzi 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 (Istanbul)
2019
3 hrs 39 min. Lorenzo Sonego d. Federico Delbonis 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 (Kitzbuhel)
3 hrs 28 min. Borna Coric d. Jaume Munar 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 (Monte Carlo)
3 hrs 24 min. Stan Wawrinka d. Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 (Indian Wells)
The longest 3-setters of the 90’s:
3 hrs. 54 min. Andrei Cherkasov d. Andrea Gaudenzi 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 (Tel Aviv ’93)
3 hrs. 44 min. Horst Skoff d. Andrei Cherkasov 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 (Schenectady ’91)
3 hrs. 42 min. Jordi Arrese d. Francisco Michelotti 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 (Florence ’92)
3 hrs. 39 min. Michael Chang d. Andrei Chesnokov 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 (Rome ’93)
3 hrs. 35 min. Javier Sanchez d. Marcelo Filippini 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 (Florence ’93)
3 hrs. 34 min. Hernan Gumy d. Alex Calatrava 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 (Mallorca ’99)
The longest 4-setters of the Open era (at least 4:30 h):
5 hrs. 14 min. Nicolas Massu d. Stefan Koubek 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (Davis Cup ’09)
5 hrs. 7 min. Dudi Sela d. Nicolas Massu 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 (Davis Cup ’07)
4 hrs. 53 min. Rafael Nadal d. Paul-Henri Mathieu 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 (Roland Garros ’06)
4 hrs. 47 min. Mats Wilander d. Guillermo Vilas 1-6, 7-6, 6-0, 6-4 (Roland Garros ’82)
4 hrs. 47 min. Ivan Lendl d. Mats Wilander 6-7, 6-0, 7-6, 6-4 (US Open ’87)
4 hrs. 40 min. Heinz Gunthardt d. Guillermo Vilas 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 (Roland Garros ’84)
4 hrs. 38 min. Jay Berger d. Jimmy Connors 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 (Roland Garros ’89)
4 hrs. 30 min. Frantisek Pala d. Brian Gottfried 10-8, 10-8, 9-11, 8-6 (Roland Garros ’72)
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6 Responses to Longest matches (best of 3): XXI century

  1. Voo de Mar says:

    If I missed some matches which should have been included, please tell me.

  2. Wanaro Evernden says:

    Great job once again, to avoid searching for: matches of at least 3:30 in the 2000s.
    1- 4 hrs. 03 min. Rafael Nadal (1) d. Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 (Madrid’09)
    2- 3 hrs. 54 min. Rafael Nadal (2) d. Carlos Moya 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 (Chennai’08)
    3- 3 hrs. 39 min. Juan Ignacio Chela d. Nicolas Massu (1) 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 (Acapulco’07)
    4- 3 hrs. 38 min. Rafael Nadal (3) d. Nikolay Davydenko 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 (Rome’07)
    5- 3 hrs. 36 min. Lleyton Hewitt d. Arnaud Clement 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 (Hamburg’03)
    6- 3 hrs. 33 min. Nicolas Massu (2) d. Albert Costa 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 (Kitzbuhel’03)
    7- 3 hrs. 30 min. Nicolas Massu (3) d. Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 (Indian Wells’01)

  3. Random says:

    I don’t know much about it, but I just wondered. The TV commercial breaks make the breaks a little longer, don’t they? So was it the same in the 90’s?

    • Voo de Mar says:

      I’m not sure but rather it’s the same 90 seconds between games. But… at the start of 2000 there was modified the ‘change of ends’ rule – it has been ’90-second break’ since then every first three games of the match, before ’00 it had been after the first game, players didn’t sit on chairs after a set then if the scoreline was even, for example ‘6-2’ or ‘6-4’. Since 2000 there’s a 120-second break between sets which influences on a different pace of a match. An example of ‘6-4’ set before and after 2000, slash signifies a change of ends with sitting on chairs.

      Before: 1:0 / 2:1 / 3:2 / 4:3 / 5:4 / 6-4; 1:0 / ~540 seconds of rest after 6 change of ends

      After: 2:1 / 3:2 / 4:3 / 5:4 / 6-4 / 2:1 / ~570 seconds of rest after 6 change of ends

      Additional 30 seconds per set, your’re right Random 🙂

  4. Voo de Mar says:

    I’ve just found info that 4 hours lasted a 3-set Davis Cup rubber in 1983, in which Eliot Teltscher beat Sean Sorensen 14-16, 10-8, 8-6. The match probably wasn’t mentioned as a record because there were no tie-breaks.

  5. Voo de Mar says:

    The longest 3-set match played indoors, occurred today as Martin Klizan beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-7(11) 6-4 7-6(3) in St. Petersburg after 3 hours 48 minutes.
    11 out of 34 games went to ‘deuce’, the longest one – 5 deuces (11 minutes). In points better was the loser (136-135) – 271 points in total,
    Nadal and Djokovic played 245 in their record match.

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