Isner-Mahut II

What a freak event. John Isner and Nicholas Mahut who played the longest match in tennis history at last year's Wimbledon, 11 hours and 70-68 in the fifth set, have been drawn at random to play in the first round again in this years event. It will be interesting to see on what court the Wimbledon officials put the match. If it were any other match between the #46 and #99 ranked players it is likely that the match would be put on an outside court. I expect that the Wimbledon committee will reward the gents for last year's effort and put the match on one of the main courts. It may be the the only opportunity that either player gets to play on the storied center court. (I am predicting a straight-set win by Isner)

And speaking of center court, Mike Russell, a native Detroiter, will have maybe his last hurrah at Wimbledon on center court as he has drawn Nadal in the first round. He will definitely have his work cut out for him to even make an impression on Nadal's game. Russell in barely hanging onto his spot in the top 100. He may need to win a challenger or two before the year is out to remain in the top 100 thru the end of the year.