As the dust settles on the first week of The Championships, it is worth noting that there have been 28 five-set singles matches that marks the highest total since 29 were played at Wimbledon in 1994. ATPWorldTour.com reviews the talking points of the first six days.

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Federer Extinguishes Falla

Top seed Roger Federer, one of the finest grass-court exponents ever seen at the All England Club, fought his way out of trouble at the start of his title-defence in the first match on Centre Court Monday.

The six-time titlist and defending champion came within three points of exiting The Championships, but managed to complete only his sixth comeback from a 0-2 sets deficit in 875 tour-level matches to beat Colombian Alejandro Falla 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-0.

At 4-4 in the third set, Falla squandered four break point opportunities. He missed a forehand volley at the net on his third point, which spurred Federer into fighting back. "That was the moment I felt was the toughest because if I wouldn't have come out of that game, I don't think I would have broken the next one,” Federer said afterwards. Falla served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set, but nerves got the better of him.

Federer Narrowly Avoids First Round Exit

In the second round, Federer was again tested over four sets by Serbian qualifier Illija Bozoljac, currently No. 152 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings and best known for dating a Miss World Canada.

The Longest Match

Starting at 6:13 p.m. on Tuesday, a global audience watched as John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played out the longest match in tennis history over three days on Court 18. Isner, who conducts a media tour in New York City on Monday, kept his nerve to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 70-68 in 11 hours and five minutes at 4:48 p.m. on Thursday.

There were three service breaks in 183 games, totalling 980 points. There were 168 consecutive service games held between both players until Isner broke in the 183rd and final game of the match. The previous break of serve had been in the second game of the second set when Isner was broken at 0-1.

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The fifth set alone lasted eight hours and 11 minutes – longer than any the previous longest-match in tennis history, when Fabrice Santoro beat his French compatriot Arnaud Clement over six hours and 33 minutes in a first-round match at 2004 Roland Garros.

Isner hit 112 aces to 103 for Mahut. There were 490 winners overall – including 244 for Mahut, who picks up a cheque for £11,250. On Wednesday, Isner missed four match points in the fifth set - one at 10-9, two at 33-32 and one at 59-58.

After the match, The Championships committee made special presentations. Andy Roddick, who ate pizza with Isner that evening, said: "His toes were just torched.They looked like deli meat."

A Royal Occasion

Security was extra tight, ties were carefully knotted and shoes polished to a near mirror-shine ahead of the visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the All England Club on Thursday.

Visiting The Championships for the first time since her Silver Jubilee year in 1977, when Virginia Wade won the women’s singles title, the Queen visited the club’s Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative before heading to the Members’ Lawn to meet the likes of Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick.

Day Four Diary

Federer, accompanied by his wife Mirka, sat next to the Queen at lunch, prior to the monarch watching Andy Murray beat Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Centre Court. After the match, the two players were presented to the Queen on the clubhouse balcony. The 84-year-old monarch also visited Wimbledon in 1957 and 1962.

Federer later joked, "She (The Queen) said I should hit more backhands down the line."

Nadal Forced To Work Overtime

Just as Federer experienced an early examination of his title-credentials, long-time rival Rafael Nadal was forced to win two five-set matches against Robin Haase and Philipp Petzschner for a place in the last 16.

Nadal beat Haase 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 on Thursday before withstanding 25 aces and 63 winners from the racquet of Petzschner, the No. 33 seed, in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3 win on Saturday. "I fought a lot [in the] last two matches," the 2008 champion said. "I think I played very good tennis.  For me, it is very good news having very tough matches and in the end winning. So that's a very positive thing mentally."

Two-Time Defending Champions Make Early Exit

On Saturday afternoon, the audience swelled on Court 5 when news spread circulated around the All England Club that Chris Eaton and Dominic Inglot, both ranked outside the Top 170 in the ATP Doubles Rankings and contesting just their third tour-level match as a team, were on the brink of an upset.

The British wild cards knocked out top seeds and two-time defending champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, the winners of five titles – including Roland Garros – from eight finals this year – by a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(4) 6-7(3) 8-6 scoreline. 

Nestor and Zimonjic, who had fought past another British pairing, Jonathan Marray and Jamie Murray, with a 15-13 fifth-set victory in the first round, suffered their earliest Grand Slam championship exit since the 2009 Australian Open (l. to Kubot-Marach in second round).

'Stop War, Start Tennis'

Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, who have both been made a Champion for Peace by an international organisation under the patronage of Prince Albert of Monaco, have been the subject of media interest en route to the doubles third round at The Championships.

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Lotto, an Italian sports apparel manufacturer, has produced for the duo ‘Stop War, Start Tennis’ tee-shirts that are also other Lotto-sponsored players to promote international harmony. When Robin Soderling and David Ferrer were quizzed this week as to why they were wearing the clothing they did not know the significance. 

Bopanna, an Indian, and Pakistani Qureshi are hoping to organise a friendly tennis match at the Wagah border, the only overland checkpoint on the frontier between India and Pakistan later this year.