WIMBLEDON, England - "Somebody had to lose,'' said the winner, John Isner. "That stinks.'' His words were on target, as was that final backhand of a tennis match which when compared to all the others ever played was matchless.

This one was a gem, an epic, a memory.

This one was fantasy embellished by disbelief.

This one offered courage and perseverance and two young men with ripping serves and endless energy.

This one produced numbers which were somewhere between illogical and incredible, numbers such as a combined 980 points, 215 service aces and 515 unreturned serves.

This one outdistanced every match ever played at Wimbledon. Every match ever played anywhere.

Finally, Thursday, after three days, after 11 hours 5 minutes, after a fifth set that because of Wimbledon tradition does not go to a tiebreaker and somehow lasted 138 games and 8 hours 11 minutes, Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 70-68.

It was a first-rounder of the 2010 All-England Lawn Tennis Championships that took so long one of the BBC color commentators, John Inverdale, thought it was a second-rounder.

"Congratulations, John, on advancing to the third round,'' or words to that effect he told Isner, who if he intends to do so Friday must overcome unseeded Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands.

Isner is the 6-foot-9 onetime NCAA runnerup from the University of Georgia who wears his baseball-style hat backwards and hits 130-plus mph serves. He's the No. 2 men's player in the U.S., behind Andy Roddick, and in his third year as a pro, No. 19 in the world.

And probably little known outside the insular world of tennis. Or was little known.

Now he's a celebrity, if not quite a star. Now he'll he remembered for taking the stage away from champions such as Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal, each of whom played and won during the three days it took to start and finish Isner-Mahut.

Mahut, a 28-year-old from France who's not even included in the ATP media guide this year - he was hurt much of 2009 - had beaten Isner the only other time they played, two years ago in the Wimbledon warmup at Queens Club.

Now they are forever linked.

"It's great,'' said Isner. "I guess something Nic and I share forever, really. I don't think I've ever said five words to the guy prior to our match. Not that he's a bad guy. It is what it is. Now when I do see him in the locker room at other tournaments we'll always be able to share that.

"I'm kind of glad it happened. Had I won in straight sets, I might be playing right now in my second-round match.''

Had he won in straight sets, nobody would have paid attention to a match out on Court 18, which is listed as a show court because it has seating but is hardly in the class of Centre Court or Court One.

In fact, it was suggested perhaps that the third segment of the Isner-Mahut match - they went four sets on Tuesday; they went to 59-59 on Wednesday - be moved to one of prime locations. But that would have been unfair to the players, now used to the surface, and to the intense fans who had posited themselves on the bleacher-type backless seats

Fans who both when play was called Wednesday for darkness and was about to resume Thursday chanted, "We want more, we want more.''

They got more than anyone could imagine.

Asked why the match went so long, Isner reminded justifiably both men have big serves - he had 112 aces, Mahut 103 - although he wouldn't think that get it past 20-all.

"I don't know,'' he added. "I guess it was just meant to be that way.''

Meant to go 168 consecutive games, from the second game of the second set to the winner of the match, without a service break?

Meant to go to point where Isner said Wednesday night he was "completely delirious"?

Meant to swallow the Wimbledon scene, that match being shown on the big TV screen in front of "Henman Hill,'' ahead of the Centre Court competition involving the defending champion?

"It's not often I steal a show from a guy like Federer,'' said Isner, "but I think I did.''

He even stole it from her majesty, Queen Elizabeth, who appearing at Wimbledon for the first time in 33 years, ate lunch, met players such as Federer and Serena - who had been working on her curtsy - sat in the royal box to watch Andy Murray, the Scot, breeze to a win and then was chauffeured away in her Jaguar.

Twice in a lifetime for the monarch. Once for a match like Isner-Mahut.