By Chris Oddo                            Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/ Getty

(May 31, 2012)—For the second time in the first five days of the French Open, an American player has tasted bitter defeat in the waning hours of sunlight on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Today it was John Isner, the last American standing, who bit the dust against 30-year-old Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 18-16 in a match that set the French Open record for games played (76).

Before he went down, Isner left his signature on a match that will go down as the longest match played on a single day in French Open history. The five-hour, forty-one minute thriller was eerily similar to Isner's now legendary eleven-hour and five-minute marathon at Wimbledon in 2010, but when all was said and done Isner and Mahut's place in the tennis's records books is more than safe.

Still, some records were broken. Isner and Mathieu played the longest fifth set in terms of games in French Open history. It was also the longest match ever played on Court Philippe Chatrier and the second-longest match in French Open history, coming fifty-two minutes from the six-hour, thirty-three minute marathon that Arnaud Clement and Fabrice Santoro played in 2004 over two days.

"Of course I did," said Mathieu when asked if he thought of his compatriot Mahut at any time during the match. "I can't believe I won this match."

Mahut, who needed seven match points to finally take down Isner in the final set, was thrilled to be soaking in the emotions of an adrenalized French crowd after having recently returned from a fifteen-month hiatus due to a knee surgery.

The former world No. 12 was awarded a wildcard into the main draw.

He made it count.

After dropping the first set in a tiebreaker, he took the next two, breaking once per set and not facing any break points from the 10th seed. Mathieu played near perfect tennis in those two sets, making only 7 unforced errors versus 29 for Isner.

In the fourth, in spite of winning only four point against the Frenchman's serve, Isner connected and leveled the match at two sets apiece.

As the fifth began it was obvious where this one was headed.

After Mathieu staved off two break points early in the set, he went on the attack, playing solidly from the ground and pressuring Isner whenever he could put the big man's serve back in play.

Isner fought off triple match point at one juncture, then saved two more match points at 12-13.

The American saved one more match point in the 34th game of the 5th set before missing wide on a forehand that brought the crowd to its feet.

"If I worked so hard to come back," said a jubillant Mathieu of his long road back from knee surgery and a precipitous drop in the rankings, "it was to experience moments like this."