ESPN Tennis

30. Henin retires, again

Unlike her fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin's comeback didn't produce any Grand Slam titles.

This season, a nervous-looking Henin flopped in Melbourne, falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round.

Still hampered by an elbow injury sustained, ironically, against Clijsters at Wimbledon last year, Henin called it quits for the second time.

"I had hoped for a different return and dreamed of a different ending," Henin said.

Why Henin couldn't wait until the Australian Open ended to make the announcement is beyond many.

29. Woz's mystery man

No, not Caroline Wozniacki's boyfriend. We knew who that was pretty early: Rory McIlroy.

Rather, Wozniacki kept everyone guessing about the identity of her new coach.

The Dane reportedly began working with the mystery person in the summer, although she wouldn't name names. Wozniacki sent video tapes of her practice sessions to the new coach, getting help from afar.

Wozniacki managed to stay mum during the U.S. Open, too.

Earlier this month, however, a Danish newspaper reported that Spaniard Ricardo Sanchez -- who teamed with another Slam-less No. 1, Jelena Jankovic -- got the job.

28. It had to happen

What were the odds of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut meeting in the first round at Wimbledon? More than 140-1. So call it destiny when it happened.

"I joked with Nic last week, sent him a text saying, 'Just watch us play the first round,'" Isner said the day the draw was made. "He replied, 'No, that's not cool,' but now it's happened."

The rematch didn't live up to the immense, and understandable, hype.

Far from a 70-68 fifth set on Court 18, Isner eased past the slightly injured Frenchman 7-6 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (6) on the new Court Three.

27. Fed finally wins Bercy

It was one of tennis' minor mysteries: Why hadn't Roger Federer ever reached a Paris Masters final? He'd played at Bercy eight times.

If ever there was a time to end the slump, it was this season since he didn't have to contend with Novak Djokovic (who bailed mid-tourney), Rafael Nadal (who skipped the event) or Andy Murray (a quarterfinal loser).

And sure enough, an inspired Federer swept to the title, not dropping a set.

"It's a special victory," he said.

26. Not so Fab

When two clay-court specialists met in the fourth round of the French Open, it was pure drama. We shouldn't be surprised that one was Fabio Fognini, given his late-night thriller against Gael Monfils last year.

Fognini saved five match points while essentially playing on one leg against veteran Albert Montanes, who tensed up at crunch time. But instead of Fognini being remembered as a hero, the Italian will go down as a villain for demanding -- and receiving -- a medical timeout when it appeared he was simply suffering from a cramp. Timeouts can't be called for cramps, and the educated folks at Roland Garros knew it.

Fognini was mostly booed when the 4-hour, 22-minute marathon concluded.

Perhaps to prove he was injured, Fognini bailed from his quarterfinal against Djokovic, altering the course of history.

25. The grudge match

David Nalbandian and Lleyton Hewitt don't particularly like each other.

There was that bump in their Australian Open quarterfinal in 2005, and on the eve of a Davis Cup semi a year later in Buenos Aires, Nalbandian said he couldn't "wait for [Hewitt] to have a taste of Argentine hospitality."

When Hewitt drew Nalbandian in the first round of the Australian Open this January, the prematch hype predictably overflowed. Thankfully that match didn't disappoint.

Devoid of any ill temper this time, the two hip-affected veterans battled for five sets and nearly five hours, with Nalbandian prevailing 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1), 9-7 after going into semi-tank mode when down a break in the fourth. He saved two match points, one with an outrageous half volley.

"It was that kind of match that nobody will forget it," Nalbandian said.

24. Kangaroo court

Obviously keen to give reporters something to talk about besides her Slam-less No. 1 label, Wozniacki took things to another level in Melbourne.

Besides setting the agenda for one of her news conferences, Wozniacki claimed a scratch on her leg came courtesy of an encounter with a kangaroo in Melbourne.

A wire service ran the story, only to have Wozniacki tell reporters later that it was a concocted tale.

"I'm sorry if I caused an inconvenience," Wozniacki said.

23. Fed punishes Rafa

Federer was in a confident mood as he prepared to face Nadal at the year-end championships. And he had every right to be considering his title at the Paris Masters and the fact that Federer had never lost to the Spaniard indoors.

Things went even better for Federer than he would have imagined.

He crunched winners from all over the court and comfortably defended Nadal's heavy crosscourt forehand.

The final score read 6-3, 6-0, Federer's most lopsided victory in their 26 encounters.

"This win ranks high because it's against my biggest rival, probably," Federer said. "It was a great match for me from start to finish. I've felt the power of Rafa in the past."

22. Slammin' Sammy upsets Serena

When Serena Williams reaches major finals, she usually wins. Entering 2011, her record was a sterling 13-3.

And when she was pitted against Samantha Stosur in the U.S. Open finale, not many gave the Aussie a chance.

But Stosur hardly blundered.

The serve and forehand worked great, as did her backhand, Stosur's weakest shot off the ground. She handled the occasion well, overcoming a minor blip after Williams clashed with the chair ump.

"I had one of my best days, and I'm very fortunate that I had it on this stage in New York," Stosur said.

Potential realized.

21. Kvitova storms to Istanbul title

To simplify matters: When Petra Kvitova is on her game, not many can beat her. Serena Williams is one of those few.

But with Williams and Clijsters absent from the year-end championships, no one managed to derail the Wimbledon winner in Istanbul.

This was the tournament -- not Wimbledon -- where Kvitova realized she's one of the best players, if not the best, in the world. She felt comfortable on the big stage.

Kvitova will be on the big stage for many years to come.

• Just imagine what next Wimbledon will bring.

Two years ago, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal slugged it out in the best final of all time. Last year, the Swiss and Andy Roddick went to 16-14 in the fifth set. And Thursday, John Isner completed his marathon 70-68 victory over a spirited Nicolas Mahut in 11 hours, 5 minutes.

Actually, going by the world record, that's more than five marathons. Every tennis record, dealing with longevity, fell.

The scoreboard stopped working at one point Wednesday, only to be revived, while chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani's voice cracked periodically. He's a trooper, and like the players, held up.

How can we not devote an entire Seen & Heard to the match?

• Fractionally more than 12 hours after play was halted at 59-59 on Wednesday, Mahut hit the practice courts for an understandably light session.

His fitness trainer, Paul Quetin, couldn't have been more proud.

And here we thought Mahut couldn't outdo his 24-22 third-set win over Brit Alex Bogdanovic in qualifying.

"I'm proud of his attitude, his courage, his competitiveness," Quetin said at Wimbledon's premium practice venue. "He passed all the limits we thought. He's a model for all of us. It inspires us and gives confidence to all the players."

Mahut was inconsolable in the locker room when it ended. He sat, we're told, motionless for a while staring at a wall.

• Patrick McEnroe has gotten to know Isner pretty well, since he's the U.S. Davis Cup captain. He compared the North Carolina native to Joe Montana, having the ability to block everything out and produce at crunch time.

Isner lost a five-setter to Serb Novak Djokovic in the first round of the Davis Cup in March, on the court for a mere 4 hours, 16 minutes that day.

"He's got this uncanny ability, and I noticed it sitting on the bench in Davis Cup, to kind of weather storms and compete," said McEnroe, who's also an analyst for ESPN. "You can't teach that. Obviously he's a competitor and feisty. He's got kind of that X factor and is a gamer. He never gets too high or too low."

• Maria Sharapova will never go to a protracted fifth set, not unless the rules are changed, but she fully appreciated what transpired on Court 18.

"I'd be checking myself into the local hospital," Sharapova said after advancing in 1 hour, 24 minutes. "They've played way beyond whatever I've practiced [a] combined three or four days. I'm still not at nine hours."

• Andy Murray got his kicks playing in front of the queen. His second-round victory over usually pesky Finn Jarkko Nieminen lasted less than two hours.

His take on the Isner-Mahut match?

"It will never happen again -- unless they play next year, maybe," Murray said.

With some calling for a fifth-set tiebreaker at all the majors, given what happened, Murray said we should leave things as they are.

"I think the rules here are very good," Murray added. "They work well. It was a huge, huge story for everybody [Wednesday], and really good for the sport. So keep it as it is."

• Tennis journalist, historian and Hall of Famer Bud Collins said he's already in the midst of updating his most recent book, "The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book." It'll be ready by the U.S. Open.

"The most popular word is unbelievable," Collins said. "But it was beyond unbelievable. Both players kept on going, and it was a great moment in the history of tennis. I myself would prefer a tiebreaker in the fifth set. But this had so much drama and the guys played so well that I don't believe we'll ever see it again."

• David Taylor, the Aussie coach of French Open finalist Samantha Stosur, planned to watch Australia face Serbia in the World Cup on Wednesday. Switching on the TV and seeing Isner's battle with Mahut, he couldn't change the channel.

"We were supposed to go out because Sam had a day off," Taylor said. "We thought we'd watch the [soccer], but then we turned the tennis on and then never left. How could you leave it, because you thought when you left it would finish."

• Rafael Nadal, who survived in five sets against Dutchman Robin Haase, had more than a passing interest in the tilt. He'll face either Isner or Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker in the third round.

"It was amazing," Rafa said in his news conference. "I congratulate both players because they did something amazing. To not lose serve all that time is amazing."

• Didn't Lahyani have to go to the bathroom Wednesday, when play topped more than seven hours?

"When you are so focused and every point feels like a match point you just don't even think about eating or needing the bathroom," Lahyani, who officiated the landmark match between Pete Sampras and Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2001, said in a statement. "I travel economy. Seven hours sitting still on a court is nothing."

• From Andy Roddick on Twitter, after congratulating Isner:

"Mahut bad luck but still he is a champion."

Isner said he joined Twitter only three days ago and already has more followers than the Bryan brothers.