The unknown record: One rally – 643 shots

 

Columnist

By David Lord, 31 Jan 2012 David Lord is a Roar Expert

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 Jean Hepner, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Tennis, Vicki Nelson

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While the big debate rages deciding if the Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal epic Australian Open final of 5 hours 53 minutes, the longest in Slam history, is the greatest tennis match of all-time, spare a thought for unknown record-holders Jean Hepner and Vicki Nelson.

In the opening round of the 1984 Virginia Slims the two girls played a 643-shot rally lasting 29 minutes.

It’s hard to get the head around just one point lasting 643 shots.

On Sunday night spectators and television viewers gasped at 30-shot-plus rallies between Djokovic and Nadal, not even 5 per cent as long as the Hepner-Nelson marathon

And not often do players ranked 93 and 173 in the world like Nelson and Hepner hold world records.

Nelson’s take on that one point:

“I thought I was going to go crazy. No matter what I did with the ball, she got it back.

“On the 642nd shot Jean lobbed it short, and I thought it’s now or never and smashed it for a winner – forever”.

Nelson not only won the point, but the match two points later 6-4 7-6 in 6 hours 31 minutes which still stands as the longest professional match decided in one day.

Had Hepner won the marathon point, she would have forced a third set. Heaven knows how long that would have lasted.

As it stands two world records for the price of one, but two sets for so long?

There must have been many more long rallies, but the 643 is the stand-out.

The longest professional match of all-time was last year at Wimbledon – the 11 hours 5 minutes between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut over three days – weather interrupting.

Isner won 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68 adding records for the longest set and the most games in a match – 184.

Isner’s quote was priceless – “I’m just a little tired, I don’t remember much from 25-all”.

That being the case, Isner cannot recall 88 games, yet still won.

Records are made to be broken. But it’s safe to say nobody would want to break the Nelson-Hepner or the Isner-Mahut records.

They will own those records for eternity.

As for the big debate, that will rage for just about as long.

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