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Deja Vu

Not you again? Marathon men Mahut and Isner paired off in Wimbledon first round

Who called for a rematch?

Updated 12.06

WHAT ARE THE chances?

Last summer, the sporting world sat enthralled as John Isner and Nicolas Mahut went head-to-head at in the first round of Wimbledon 2010, producing a tennis match that simply defied belief.

Inseparable for 11 hours and five minutes of tennis stretched over three days, Isner eventually triumphed in the sport’s longest ever match, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68.

And now they’re set to do it all again.

Already the calls have begun for the historic significance of the rematch to be properly recognised with Andy Murray tweeting that it should take place on Centre Court, while others are of the opinion that the players should return to Court 18, scene of last year’s historic encounter.

The fourth-seeded Murray will face Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain in the first round while Novak Djokovic, seeded second, will first face Jeremy Chardy of France in his own opener.

Top-seeded defending champion Rafael Nadal was drawn to face Michael Russell of the United States. Six-time champion Roger Federer opens his tournament against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.

In the women’s draw, seventh-seeded Serena Williams and sister Venus Williams are in opposite halves, setting up the possibility for a fifth sibling final at the All England Club.

The sisters have won nine of the past 11 Wimbledon finals. Serena, who has won four, is 3-1 against five-time champion Venus in the final match.

– Additional reporting by AP