Last year, the biggest story of Wimbledon wasn’t Nadal or Federer or Serena Williams or any of the usual cast of characters. It was a pair of zombies out on Court 18 by the names of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. Well, whether by design or coincidence, the tennis gods pair the tennis zombies back together for a rematch in the first round this year. Unfortunately, this year’s battle didn’t live up to last year’s insanity. That didn’t stop The Guardian’s live blogger Paolo Bandini from having some fun with the match.

After the jump, we have Paolo’s play-by-play of the revenge of the zombie tennis stars.

11.45am: An improbable first-round rematch between the most gifted undead tennis players you’re ever likely to see. Last year the decaying corpses of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut went at it for an incredible 183 games in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes and had to be played across three days. Today they are fourth up on the recently revamped Court 3 – assuming the weather holds.

6.06pm: We are rapidly closing in on the reprisal of hostilities between Mahut and Isner. The BBC commentator David Law feels ready:

Carb-loading – check, water – check, tent – check, Three days clothing – check. Officially ready to report on Isner/Mahut for @5livetennis.

6.15pm: We, meanwhile, head over to Court 3, where the corpses of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut are right this second shambling out onto the court.

6.21pm: To tell you the truth, they don’t look much like zombies. Perhaps someone found a serum after the tournament. Or maybe it’s just a combination of make-up and sunlight. I’ll let you know if I see any limbs fall off over the next few hours. The pair pose for a photograph together, and everybody cheers.

6.26pm: Mahut opens confidently, pinging his first serves down with more than enough power and accuracy to seal a straightforward hold to 15. But what’s that black patch on his knee? A plaster? What could it conceal? Decades-old, rotting yet immortal flesh? Or a slight graze sustained while accidentally brushing up against a fence post in the garden?

6.33pm: A surprisingly high number of empty seats on Court 3. Are the people already bored of this whole Isner v Mahut match-up? Or have they just decided it’s not really worth getting into until we get to 10-10 in the final set?

6.42pm: To be honest, this Isner v Mahut match is not so different thus far to the latter stages of last year’s encounter. After five games it’s all gone with serve, and with big serves booming down on both sides, we’re not seeing a lot of rallies.

6.54pm: The ghouls of SW19 stand behind their respective baselines, thwacking the ball back and forth. They take turns to hold serve, doing as they are expected to do. The crowd observe quietly – waiting, watching for any flicker, any hint that these beasts are gearing up for a repeat of last year’s spectacle. Just in front of the wall behind Isner, a ball boy shivers. Perhaps he is cold – although the sun is out, it is cool in the shadows. Or perhaps, from his superior vantage point, he has caught a glimpse of what is yet to come.

7.12pm: The first set of Isner v Mahut goes to a tie-break (of course it does), and it is Isner who prevails 7-4, capitalising after Mahut swats an overhead into the net at 3-1 down. Mahut, glossy eyed, shuffles off to his chair to pick at some brains.

7.29pm: Mahut is falling apart! No, literally, I’m sure I just saw a clump of flesh fall down from underneath his elbow. Thankfully for the anxious suits of the All England Club a ballboy swept it up before too many people noticed. The Frenchman, though, couldn’t help but be distracted, and he wings a forehand some way long of the baseline to give up the first break of the match. Isner leads 7-6, 4-1.

7.39pm: Another break for Isner gives him the set – just an hour and 13 minutes in, he leads 7-6, 6-2. How on earth are they going to pad this out for another 10 hours?

7.50pm: Mahut shuffles off for a bathroom break and returns to find the sun dipping behind Court 3’s new grandstand. Perhaps refreshed from his break, perhaps empowered by the fading of the sunlight, Mahut promptly secures his first break, racing 0-40 ahead before pressing home his advantage with a wicked forehand. He follows up by holding serve to love, and leads 3-1 in the third set.

8.03pm: The sun continues to dip behind Court 3, shrouding the players in shadow. Mahut, briefly so commanding, suddenly seems to lose his nerve, double-tapping a backhand before swatting it angrily into the crowd as he slides to 15-40. And then the camera cuts out. Perhaps television bosses felt that the ensuing carnage was too gory even for those hardened souls among us who watched the last encounter. All I can say for sure is that, when the images returned, Isner had broken back to level the set at 4-4.

8.21pm: In the meantime, you surely won’t be shocked to hear that it’s tie-break time again for Isner and Mahut on Court 3. We re-join the action just in time to see Mahut strike a forehand winner to a chorus of boos in the gloaming. Is this a response to the carnage blacked out earlier? Or does everyone just want to go home?

8.25pm: Isner performs a celebratory hop as he watches Mahut’s desperate lunging pass drift long of the baseline. Most unzombie-like behaviour. He then crushes an ace straight down the middle of the court to give himself a 5-4 lead in the tie-break.

8.27pm: At 5-5 Mahut seeks to return the favour with a fine serve that skips away low off the inside tramline, only to watch Isner somehow transform his attempt at a full-stretch parry into a sensational passing shot down the line. Isner blows his first match point, playing long, but immediately gives himself another. This time he presses home the advantage, completing his 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 win in just two hours and three minutes. That’s nine less than last year, folks.

8.30pm: It might have taken a full year, but at last Mahut’s weary corpse can rest in peace. Well, until his next tournament at least. Isner shuffles on to the next round, where Nicolas Almagro awaits – presumably with crucifix and a large collection of blunt objects.

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