Epic rematch as Isner,Mahut to meet again in first round

An audible gasp followed Fridays announcement,but laughter soon ensued.

The longest match rematch is coming to Wimbledon next week after John Isner and Nicolas Mahut were drawn Friday to face each other in the first round. Last year,the pair played the longest match in tennis history at the All England Club,with Isner winning 6-4,3-6,6-7 (7),7-6 (3),70-68 in the first-round,a match that lasted 11 hours,5 minutes and stretched over three days. An audible gasp followed Fridays announcement,but laughter soon ensued.

Its going to be pretty nuts, Isner said Friday. I couldnt believe it,I joked with him earlier in the week,last week,and said watch us play each other, and he said no,theres no way,thats not even funny.

The two players,who have become good friends since their historic encounter a year ago,were due to practice with each other on Sunday but canceled those plans as soon as they found out the rematch was on.

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The match last year was played on Court 18,and a new plaque this year commemorates the epic contest. This years contest is scheduled to take place,or begin at least,on Tuesday. Their first-round match was held over twice because of darkness last year,and with rain forecast for the opening week of Wimbledon,there is a chance they could be delayed again.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal was drawn in the opposite half from six-time champion Roger Federer,meaning there is a chance of a fourth Wimbledon final between the two. The top-seeded Nadal will start against Michael Russell of the United States in the opening match on Centre Court on Monday.

Nadal could come up against the big-serving Milos Raonic in the third round and then 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the last 16. If the seedings pan out,Nadals quarterfinal could be a rematch of last years final against Tomas Berdych.

Federer has second-seeded Novak Djokovic as his projected semifinal opponent. The third-seeded Swiss will face Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in the first round.