Nicolas Mahut certainly knows a little something about being on court for a long time. Judging by his smile, it was a much better feeling this time.
The 31-year old Frenchman captured the title at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Sunday, beating Lleyton Hewitt of Australia 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
Mahut lost the longest match in tennis history three years ago, dropping the fifth set to John Isner 70-68 at Wimbledon in a match that lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes. A display with items used in that match is located a few hundred meters away in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
On Sunday morning, Mahut advanced after beating American Michael Russell 6-2, 6-2 in just 63 minutes. Mahut needed 2 hours, 19 minutes to get past Hewitt. Then he had to prepare for a doubles semifinal.
"You guys know I can play a long time, stay a long time on the court," he said, breaking into a grin while standing on a rear practice court. "I would like to tell you I'm not tired. I'm tired, but I have the trophy in my bag, so I just need to get ready to play one more match."