A Wimbledon Thursday Review

Wimbledon ATP
- Official Site
- Order of Play
- Singles Draw
- Singles Qualifiers Draw
- Doubles Draw
- Doubles Qualifiers Draw
- Live Scores

Wimbledon WTA
- Official Site
- Order of Play
- Singles Draw
- Singles Qualifiers Draw
- Doubles Draw
- Doubles Qualifiers Draw
- Live Scores

Wimbledon Other
- Mixed Doubles Draw
- Juniors Draw
- Wheelchair Draw
- Live Scores

By Alberto Amalfi
© Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

(June 24, 2010) The Queen returned to The Championships for the first time in 33 years on a majestic day of tennis at Wimbledon.

John Isner edged Nicolas Mahut, 70-68, in the fifth set to complete the longest match in tennis history.

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova moved one round closer to a round of 16 clash and both 2008 champion Rafael Nadal and 10th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were forced to fight through five-set victories to reach the third round.

Here's a recap of some Wimbledon day four highlights:

Women's Upset: Anastasia Rodionova continued Svetlana Kuznetsova's major misery by dispatching the two-time Grand Slam champion, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Since she won the French Open last June, Kuznetsova has failed to surpass the fourth round in five consecutive majors.

Men's Stat: The Isner-Mahut match spanned a record 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days. The pair played a total of 183 games with Isner delivering 112 aces.

Women's Commentator Quote: "I think Venus moves as well side-to-side but Serena being three inches shorter is lower to the ground. She can get forward quickly." — ESPN's Pam Shriver suggesting Serena Williams may be the fastest woman in tennis.

"She looks like a torpedo going toward her target when she's coming at you like that." — ESPN's Mary Carillo on Serena's movement.

Men's Commentor Quotes: "It didn't stunt his growth." — ESPN's Brad Gilbert on 6-foot-9 John Isner's time in a body cast as a 3-year-old

"With John serving first, I'm liking the big man's chances." — ESPN's Brad Gilbert predicting Isner would prevail

"This was the greatest advertisement we have ever had for our sport." — BBC and NBC analyst John McEnroe on the importance of the Isner-Mahut epic.

Women's Player Quote: "I gotta give it to the guy. I would not have lasted that long. It was just so amazing to see this record. I was shocked. It just adds so much to the game and shows tennis is a serioius sport and us athletes are working really really hard in tennis so it just goes to show tennis is a great sport to be invived with." — Serena Williams on Isner vs. Mahut.

"I'd be checking myself into the local hospital at that point. It's pretty incredible what they've done. I think at this point maybe the rules will be changed at a certain point you're going to have to play a tie breaker. It's an amazing effort at that point in the match to come out and to be able to hit such powerful strokes and serves and just keep doing it over and over. But over a certain period of time, I think it takes a toll on your body mentally and physically.I mean, probably the rule will change, but you never know." — Maria Sharapova on Isner vs. Mahut.

Men's Player Quote: "I put in the long hours. Prior to coming to Wimbledon, I didn't play in Eastbourne because I didn't feel fit. I had the long clay court season. So I stayed an extra eight days in Tampa where it was a hundred degrees and a hundred percent humidity. I got in pretty good shape. My coach actually, believe it or not, said jokingly before the tournament started that I'll be able to play 10 hours. That's the truth. After practicing at Saddlebrook in Tampa in that heat, he was right." — John Isner.

"This one's obviously going to stick with me probably the rest of my life really. But I hope it doesn't define my career. I think I have what it takes, you know, to do some really big things in this game.You know, obviously the four biggest tournaments of the year are the Grand Slams. I have probably a good seven, eight years left to try to make a good run at 'em.
So hopefully, you know, this won't be the thing that I'm most remembered about." — John Isner