Yesterday, Qinwen Zheng and Donna Vekić shook hands at the net once the clock struck 2:16am local time to record the latest finish to a women’s match in US Open history.
The three-set contest eclipsed the previous record set by Maria Sakkari and former champion at Flushing Meadows, Bianca Andreescu, set back in 2021 by three minutes.
That didn’t stop Zheng and Vekić from producing the match of the tournament, in what was a rematch of the gold medal decider at the Paris Olympics.
“I like to play in the night session. Here in New York it’s my first time,” said Zheng in her on-court interview.
“It’s two in the morning, it’s incredible. Thanks to the fans who have stayed to support me.”
It has been an age-old debate across the tennis landscape over the years, but many share the opinion that it doesn’t serve the product well, including multiple Grand Slam champion Andy Murray.
“The tennis scheduling situation is a total mess. It looks so amateurish having matches going on at 2,3 4am (thumbs down). Sort it out @usopen @Australianopen @Wimbledon @rolandgarros @atptour @WTA @ITFTennis,” he tweeted.
Popular tennis journalist José Morgado said on X: "The level of this match is simply absurd. I'm so mad it's being played for such a small crowd."
Only a few thousand people were left in attendance yesterday during the early hours in an Arthur Ashe stadium that holds less than 24,000.
The Australian Open has come under scrutiny in the past for its handling of early-morning matches, breaking the Melbourne Park record in 2008 between Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis, out on court until 4:34am.
In January, three-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev clawed his way back from two sets down to finish at 3:40am against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori. The year prior, Murray and Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis were 28 minutes shy of eclipsing the record set by Hewitt and Baghdatis.
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