Marathon man Nicolas Mahut caps 25-year pro career with Paris Masters farewell

In a pro career that began 25 years ago, the end of an era closed Tuesday for Nicolas Mahut.

The 43-year-old, most widely known for being one half of the longest match in tennis history with John Isner, bid adieu on home soil at the Rolex Paris Masters alongside Grigor Dimitrov. The two were edged out on Court 2 by Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 6-4, 5-7 [10-4].

Roger-Vasselin notably shared the court with Mahut for eight of his doubles titles, including a 37^th and final one at 2022 Florence.

Mahut’s loss to Isner, 70-68 in the fifth after 11 hours and five minutes of play over three days at 2010 Wimbledon, is a popular identifier for the Boulogne-Billancourt resident, who later captured four grass-court titles and peaked at No. 37 in the rankings following that historic marathon meeting.

“I now enjoy talking about that match because it was a crazy experience. It brought me a lot as a player and as a man,“ he said according to the ATP’s website. “But I can be associated with that match and I can talk about it easily because I know that after that… I managed to win.

“When I went this year with my son, walking through the aisles, he saw his name after all, because it’s also his. It gives me a little pride and ultimately there’s nothing more beautiful for me.”

It was on the doubles court however, with Pierre-Hugues Herbert specifically, where Mahut left his greatest mark in the history books.

The Frenchmen completed a Career Grand Slam at the 2019 Australian Open and added a second major triumph on home soil when they were crowned the 2021 Roland Garros champions. Mahut and Herbert also twice won the Nitto ATP Finals, were regular contributors throughout France’s run to the 2017 Davis Cup trophy and collected seven of the nine ATP Masters 1000 titles as one of their generation’s most formidable duos.

On June 6, 2016, Mahut topped the ATP doubles rankings for the first time. At the tour level, he finishes with 472 doubles wins and 181 singles victories.