Bizarrely, There Is Also Tennis Taking Place On The Other Courts.

[rionaleonhart]

I've never been a tennis fan, but I found myself strangely fascinated by the match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut over the past couple of days. For those unaware: to win the fifth set, one player needs to be two full games ahead. In the case of Isner and Mahut, this didn't happen. It didn't happen for eleven hours. They played and played and played. On Wednesday, the match was suspended due to failing light levels at 59-59. On Thursday, I watched in increasing disbelief and cheered every time the score was equalised again, but eventually Isner won at 70-68. This one set went on longer than any full match of tennis ever played. You could have watched the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in the time they were playing.

(When the set finally, finally finished, there was a little unexpected ceremony and the players and umpire all got presents. I thought that was rather sweet. Also, the audience cheered Mahut far more than they did the actual winner of the match, which was an extremely British thing to do. We do love a person who fights and fights and then loses anyway.)

So, anyway, now some part of me wants Mahut/Isner fanfiction. Hour after hour playing against each other, and eventually a sort of bizarre, exhaustion-induced Stockholm Syndrome sets in. Does either of them really want it to end?

...I'm a bad person.

(The Guardian live blog for the first day of Groundhog Set is hilarious (start from the last paragraph of the 3.45 entry). My favourite part:

The scoreboard is barely visible through the grass and weeds and trails of Spanish moss. It shows that John Isner and Nicolas Mahut are locked at 37 games each in the final set.

I'm wondering if maybe an angel will come and set them free. Is this too much to ask? Just one slender angel, with white wings and a wise smile, to tell them that's it's all right, they have suffered enough and that they are now being recalled. The angel could hug them and kiss their brows and invite them to lay their rackets gently on the grass. And then they could all ascend to heaven together. John Isner, Nicolas Mahut and the kind angel that saved them.

Also, I enjoy the fact that the highest-rated comment by far on the next day's blog is this:

I take Mahut off to them both. Just because it's been a ridiculous match of tennis, Isner reason for puns ay?)

Did I really just make an entire entry about tennis? How unusual.


Today, I find out what class degree I have.

I'm really scared.

Comments

[vampirespider.livejournal.com]

Good luck re: degree. I hope you get what you expect to (or better, obvs. :D ) ♥

(Also, seriously, The Guardian's affinity for puns is one of it's most endearing features.

And I feel like I've missed a cultural event not watching this match. Curse being in Denmark.)

[rionaleonhart]

Thank you! I doubt I'll have managed what I know I'm capable of (realised too late that I'd picked the wrong topic for my dissertation, which is frustrating), but the good wishes are very much appreciated.

(Well, if you were looking for excitement, watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy would probably have been a better way of spending many hours, but watching the games rack up endlessly was sort of hilarious.)

[vampirespider.livejournal.com]

Dissertations are ridiculously hard to judge, because you don't really know what you're doing 'til you're hip deep, at which point it's too late to escape from the mud (...metaphor fail?). Still, I hope you're pleased & have an awesome time celebrating.

(True. I haven't actually done a LotR marathon in years. Hm...)

[apiphile.livejournal.com]

So, anyway, now some part of me wants Mahut/Isner fanfiction.

That was exactly my reaction.

[rionaleonhart]

Oh, thank goodness I'm not the only one.

(I was slightly worried by how very pleased I was that they hugged across the net when it was over.)

[suzie-shooter.livejournal.com]

oh god no, so did I! I still do...

[onlyonechoice.livejournal.com]

Heehee, that match was amazing to sneakily watch streaming live at work, and I'll admit a few slashy thoughts of my own :D

[rionaleonhart]

I love the Internet. I love that people here understand that sometimes love needs to bloom on the tennis court.

[ficliously.livejournal.com]

Hilarious. Epic. Life has been so superb in terms of sports lately.

I live in the US and therefore don't know what a class degree is, but I'm sure you'll do really well!!!

[rionaleonhart]

Thank you! (What I mean is that I'll be finding out what class of bachelor's degree I have; first class is the best, followed by upper second class (2:1), lower second class (2:2) and third class.)

[fireholly.livejournal.com]

I agree. I normally have no interest in any kind of sport, but I am a massive fan of neverending pointlessness and futility, so the Mahut/Isner thing stuck out for me and I love both of those boys for working so hard. ♥

[ukcalico.livejournal.com]

Good luck with results!!

Groundhog Set

I so seriously heart the Guardian sometimes...

[denorios.livejournal.com]

It was an epic match, wasn't it? I felt so bad for Mahut when they were making them both pose against the scoreboard - I'm sure he doesn't really want a pictorial reminder of how much he lost by!

And, *coughs*, I didn't even know I wanted fanfic until you mentioned it. And now I do too. *headdesk*

Good luck with your degree! I hope you get whatever grade you're hoping for.

[th-esaurus.livejournal.com]

You are the second person on my flist who has expressed an interest in Mahut/Isner slash. JUST TELLING YOU YOU'RE NOT ALONE.

I have faith in your brilliance and I hope you get the degree you want <333

(And THANK YOU for my letter, epic smiles were had.)

[missnoface.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the degree.

[dancesontrains.livejournal.com]

MAHUT/COURT 18 4EVA!!!11

/not a Court 18's opinion

*\o/* for the degree results, bb.

[ruthi.livejournal.com]

I posted a recipe for strawberry ice-cream so nobody noticed I wanted Mahut/Isner slash.

Good luck with your degree results!

[bubbles-san.livejournal.com]

I love how that blog keeps referring to them as zombies and talking about the undead and getting off track about stuff.

[inappropriately.livejournal.com]

I didn't watch the match, though it felt like I was because everyone was tweeting about it. Anyway, I feel Mahut/Isner fanfiction should be something that occurs. Maybe involving some kind of zombie AU.

Is there a tennis fandom? There must be.

Good luck with your results :)

[thorne-scratch.livejournal.com]

I think my favorite comment in the various articles I've read was noting how, "And [Mahut's] hair was as impeccable after 11 hours of tennis as it was when he first stepped on the court."

The important thing, of course!

[smiley-nat.livejournal.com]

I would feel weird about fanfic involving Isner considering I've met him (he was friends with a guy who gave me a tour of UGA). I've never read fic about anyone I've met/seen in person, so I'm not sure I could handle it. Also, he is HUGE. The TV screen didn't do him justice, he can't be more than a couple inches shy of 7'. It's very intimidating when you're just over 5'.

ETA: Good luck on your results!

[amy-wolf.livejournal.com]

I've got almost no interest in sports, but that angel thing is awesome!

[littlemoose.livejournal.com]

That commentary rocks.

Also: *drive-by hugging*

[rowanberries.livejournal.com]

So, anyway, now some part of me wants Mahut/Isner fanfiction. Hour after hour playing against each other, and eventually a sort of bizarre, exhaustion-induced Stockholm Syndrome sets in. Does either of them really want it to end?

...I'm a bad person.


Bad perhaps, but not wrong, and not alone. (Especially after that hug at the end. AWW.)

Good luck with the results! And as the person who calculates and chivvies the system into awarding people at another university, hope you get/got them on time! *Eyes own system, crosses fingers.*

[aki-yasu.livejournal.com]

...I apologize for the creep-commenting, but I was googling "mahut isner fanfic" and came across your page... I'm glad I'm not the only one. XD
Please share if you do come across them fanfics? (And I'll link them to you if I find some too)

[rionaleonhart]

Hello! Er, sorry it took me a year to reply to this (almost to the day, in fact), but I have actually come across some Mahut/Isner fanfiction, if you're still interested! It's over here.

[lazaefair.livejournal.com]

^ Strangely enough I also googled "isner/mahut fanfiction" and your entry was the first to pop up! Sports RPS is my very secret guilty pleasure. I love that picture of them hugging.

[rionaleonhart]

I'm so amused that other people are actually searching for it. As a reward for your efforts, here is a link to some actual Mahut/Isner fanfiction!

[lazaefair.livejournal.com]

I asked and the internet provided! I had some inklings of writing my own fic, thinking that I would be driven to that extremity, but then realized that I knew nothing about tennis.

[rionaleonhart]

I have that problem as well, sadly. I'm sort of tempted to write a fic in which the world ends and they don't notice for hours because they're too busy playing tennis, but I really don't have the knowledge for it. Still, at least someone has written fanfiction.

[lazaefair.livejournal.com]

>_>

<_< That's what wikipedia is for?