A Warm Welcome And Win For Mahut In Newport

© Michael BazNicolas Mahut wins in his first match since the historic Wimbledon marathon.

In his first singles match since his record-shattering marathon effort at Wimbledon, Frenchman Nicolas Mahut clinched a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory over third-seeded Colombian Alejandro Falla on Tuesday at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport.

In contrast to the 11 hours and five minutes he spent on court in a loss to American John Isner in a 70-68 fifth set, Mahut needed just one hour and 23 minutes to record the win in his first-round match at the ATP World Tour 250 grass-court tournament.

“This is just amazing what happened here for me,” said Mahut. “Just people coming every two minutes, come to me and congratulate me. It’s an unbelievable feeling. Just I’m so grateful to everyone, really… I take the energy from the people, and that’s why I won today.

“I was thinking that people would say ‘Bad luck, you lost this match’, but no, people are coming to me and say, ‘I’ve never seen something like this before. It’s just amazing. You both deserve to win.’ It’s a great feeling.”

The 144th-ranked Frenchman fought off three break points faced on serve in the decisive set and converted on one of his two opportunities to prevail against the Colombian, who had also garnered headlines following his first-round match at Wimbledon; Falla had won the first two sets of that match against top seed and defending champion Roger Federer before succumbing in five.

Though the two players endured 97 degree temperatures on court, Mahut said: “Nothing is worse than what I did in Wimbledon. Every match that I play now will be easier than what I did. I cannot complain anymore.”

He admitted, however, that he felt the added pressure of performing up to the standard he set at the All England Club. “The pressure I feel is that I have to show what I’ve shown on the court,” said Mahut. “Just, fight for my best and that’s it. Of course I lost first round, everyone is talking about this match, but still it’s first round. I’m still [144 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings], I need to win some matches to come back in the Top 100.”

Mahut, a finalist at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in 2007 and a quarter-finals last year (l. to Santoro both times), arrived in Newport early to present his shirt and one of his shoes from his three-day marathon match to the International Tennis Hall of Fame this past weekend.

Mahut Donates Memorabilia To Museum

“This match is both the best moment of my career, maybe my life, and also the worst,” said Mahut, who confessed to thinking of the match “every minute” and having dreams where he ended up the winner. “It’s still really painful, to be honest, it really is. I’m also really proud to be in the Hall of Fame museum, Wimbledon museums. All these things, really, that means a lot to me.”

He added of his contributions to the historic exhibition halls in Newport: “Of course, I took a picture of it on my phone. I said to my friends, ‘Look, I’m in the Hall of Fame museum.’”