Tennis · 2012 · Melbourne, Australia
The Longest Grand Slam Final
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal play for nearly six hours in the longest Grand Slam final in history, and neither can stand up for the trophy ceremony.
Djokovic def. Nadal, 7-5 in the 5th
Result
5 hours 53 minutes (record)
Match length
1:37am local time
Finish time
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the world's top two ranked players, met in the 2012 Australian Open final and spent five full sets landing significant blows on each other without either being able to pull decisively clear.
Djokovic won it 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5, at 1:37am local time, after five hours and fifty-three minutes on court, the longest Grand Slam final ever played by duration. Both players were so far gone by the end that tournament organisers brought chairs onto the court for the trophy presentation rather than ask them to stand through it.
It arrived in the middle of a run of finals between the two of them that reset what the modern game demanded physically. Whenever a match gets described as an ordeal of endurance rather than a tennis contest, this is the one it is held against.
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