Zheng Qinwen of China prevailed over Donna Vekic in a match that set a new record for the latest finish in women’s singles at Flushing Meadows, but Murray insisted this record represented a low point.
Zheng, the seventh seed, repeated her Olympic Games gold medal victory over Vekic in a 7-6 (7/2), 4-6, 6-2 triumph. Their fourth-round clash stretched for two hours and 50 minutes, kicking off around 11:25 p.m. on Sunday after a preceding men’s match that spanned three hours and four sets.
Zheng’s match broke the previous late finish record of 2:13 a.m. from 2021, set by Maria Sakkari against Bianca Andreescu in a last-16 matchup. Despite the early morning conclusion, Zheng remained composed.
“It’s always nice to play in the night session because I’m used to it,” Zheng told the diehard smattering of fans left inside the cavernous 24,000-seater Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It’s the first time I’ve played here in New York at two in the morning. It’s unbelievable. Thanks to the fans that aren’t sleeping tonight for supporting me here.”
This year’s US Open has seen several late finishes, despite ongoing efforts to address the issue, which has also plagued other Grand Slam events in Melbourne and Paris.
– ‘Tricky’ –
World number two Aryna Sabalenka’s win over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the third round started at a record late time of 12:08 a.m. on Saturday and finished at 1:48 a.m.
“I got back at 3:00 a.m., probably fall asleep at 4:00,” said Sabalenka.
“I’m glad I didn’t play for, like, three hours and then I would probably come back at 5:00 a.m. and then this would be tricky.”
Germany’s Alexander Zverev completed a four-set, third round win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry at 2:35 a.m. on Saturday.
That was the second latest finish in US Open history, behind only the 2:50 a.m. conclusion between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2022.
World number four Zverev was back on the court on Sunday afternoon to defeat Brandon Nakashima and reach the quarter-finals.
US Open chiefs introduced a new policy this year to counter the problem of late finishes with the tournament referee able to move a match to another show court if necessary.
“We’ve had late matches here. We will still have late matches here. We are now defining a policy,” tournament director Stacey Allaster said on the eve of the US Open.
“In the event that we have the second match of the evening in Ashe or the last match in Armstrong, if those matches have not gone on by 11.15pm, the referee will have the discretion to move the match.”
However, she added: “That’s going to depend on many variables, like do we have the broadcast team ready, do we have a ball crew and so forth.”
– ‘Unhealthy’ –
Zverev is no stranger to early morning finishes — in Acapulco in 2022, he completed a first round win over Jenson Brooksby at 4:55 a.m. It is the latest-ever finish in all tennis history.
The latest finish in all Grand Slams was 4:34 a.m. when Lleyton Hewitt defeated Marcos Baghdatis at the 2008 Australian Open.
In Melbourne this year, Daniil Medvedev completed a five-set win over Emil Ruusuvuori at 3:40 a.m.
Twelve months earlier, Murray defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis just after 4 a.m. after five hours and 45 minutes on court.
At this year’s French Open, Novak Djokovic won a match against Lorenzo Musetti at a tournament record 3:06 a.m.
US star Coco Gauff described such finishes as “unhealthy” for players and fans.
Earlier in 2024, the ATP and WTA, who run the main tours, issued new guidelines to prevent late finishes.
The number of evening matches is limited while none are allowed to start after 11 p.m.
That strategy does not, however, apply to the Grand Slams although Wimbledon already operates a locally-agreed 11 p.m. curfew.
