Czechs and Swiss Play Longest Davis Cup Match in History

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Czechs and Swiss Play Longest Davis Cup Match in History

By Chris Oddo

(February 2, 2013) -- Tomas Berdych and Lukas Rosol’s 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(3), 24-22 victory over Stan Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli on Saturday didn’t just give the Czech Republic a 2-1 lead in their Davis Cup tie with Switzerland, it also smashed a few longstanding tennis records in the process.

In terms of elapsed time the 7:01 marathon becomes the longest match in the history of Davis Cup, doubles or singles, while the 46-game fifth set becomes the longest deciding set game-wise in Davis Cup history too.

Other than John Isner and Nicolas Mahut’s 11:05 death match at Wimbledon in 2010 no tennis match -- singles or doubles -- has lasted longer in terms of elapsed time. The 215-minute fifth set featured 19 break points, 16 of which went to Berdych and Rosol, but none were converted until the last, when Chiudinelli double-faulted to end the festivities.

While we’re on the subject of excruciatingly long Davis Cup matches, here are a few other Davis Cup records, some still standing and some shattered today's epic, to chew on.

Most games in a rubber (singles or doubles), pre-tiebreak (Still Standing)

122 -- Stan Smith/ Erik Van Dillen (USA) d. Patricio Cornejo and Jaime Filoll (CHI) 7-9, 37-39, 8-6, 6-1, 6-3, 1973

Most games in a rubber, since the tiebreaker’s inception in 1989 (Shattered)

*Singles, 82 -- Radek Stepanek d. Ivo Karlovic, 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-6(6), 6-7(2), 16-14

*Doubles, 78 -- Carlos Di Laura/ Jose Luis Noriega (PER) d. Mauro Menezes/ Fernando Roese (BRA) 7-5, 6-7(6), 7-6(4), 5-7, 15-13, 1991

Longest rubber time-wise (Shattered)

*Singles -- 6:22

John McEnroe d. Mats Wilander 9-7, 6-2, 15-17, 3-6, 8-6, 1982

*Doubles -- 6:20

Lucas Arnold-Ker/ David Nalbandian d. Yevgeny Kafelnikov/ Marat Safin 6-4, 6-4, 507, 3-6, 19-17, 2002

Most games in a set (Still Standing)

76 -- Stan Smith/ Erik Van Dillen (USA) d. Patricio Cornejo and Jaime Filoll (CHI) 37-39 1973 (2nd set)

Most games in a fifth set, singles or doubles (Shattered)

*44 -- Carlos Alberto-Fernandes/ Armando Vieira (BRA) d. Arie Avidan Weiss/Eleazar Davidman (ISR) 1-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 23-21, 1957

*Broken today By Berdych/ Rosol vs. Wawrinka/ Chiudinelli

(Photo Credit: Daviscup.com)