The Record-Breaking Wimbledon Match Pancho Gonzales vs Charlie Pasarell Wimbledon 1969

In 1969, a 41-year-old Pancho Gonzales played a 5-set match at Wimbledon against his protege, 25-year-old Charlie Pasarell. The match went on for 5 hours and 20 minutes, covering 112 games, both records at that time for a match at Wimbledon. Gonzales had won two US National Championships 20 years prior and had been the number one player in the world, but he had never won the Wimbledon crown. This was due largely to the fact that he played as a professional from 1949 onward, barring him from competing at Wimbledon until 1968, when Open Tennis allowed professionals to take part in the tournament. Pancho lost the initial two sets. Play was suspended due to rain and darkness. Gonzales clawed his way back, taking the match into a fifth and deciding set. Watch here as the action begins in the fifth set. Copyright Fair Use Disclaimer This video may contain copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research purposes. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.