This June 24, 2010, photo shows John Isner of the US and France's Nicolas Mahut (R) posing for a photo next to the scoreboard following their record-breaking men's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon. (AP)WIMBLEDON: 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 a first-round match that stretched over three days. An audible gasp followed Friday's announcement, but laughter soon ensued. The matchup was the talk of the social networking site as soon as it was announced. The match last year was played on Court 18, and a new plaque this year commemorates the epic contest, which lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes. This year's contest is scheduled to take place — or begin at least — Tuesday. 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 Center Court Monday. Nadal could come up against the big-serving Milos Raonic in the third round and then 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the last 16. If the seedings pan out, Nadal's quarterfinal could be a rematch of last year's 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, and could encounter former finalist David Nalbandian in the third round. Djokovic meets Jeremy Chardy of France in the first round. Of the top four, Murray has possibly the most difficult route to the final. Before a possible semifinal against Nadal, he could face Marin Cilic in the third round, Richard Gasquet in the last 16 and three-time finalist Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. Murray will meet Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain in the first round. In the women's draw, seventh-seeded Serena Williams and big sister Venus Williams are in opposite halves, setting up the possibility for a fifth sibling final at the All England Club. Vera Zvonareva could meet Venus, who has been seeded 22nd, in the fourth round at Wimbledon. Venus opens against Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan, while Serena takes on Aravane Rezai of France. Zvonareva plays Alison Riske of the United States. As the defending champion, Serena's first-round match will open play on Center Court Tuesday. Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, the No. 1-ranked player, meets Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain in the first round. If she gets that far, she could meet Serena in the semifinals. French Open champion Li Na has a potentially tough second-round match. If she gets past Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia in the first round, she could face Sabine Lisicki. Maria Sharapova will be up against Anna Chakvetadze of Russia in the opening round.
