Zverev-Brooksby late-night Acapulco thriller sets new tennis world record

The opening round match between Alexander Zverev and Jenson Brooksby at the Abierto Mexicano Acapulco saw both men enshrine their name in the tennis record books, as the match ended up having the latest ending to a tennis match in history.

Zverev, the second seed and defending champion, was scheduled to play Brooksby in the third match of the night session, which was set to begin at 6pm local time. However, following two epic three-setters, Zverev and Brooksby didn’t get on court until almost 1:30am.

They then played out an epic, with Zverev storming back from a set down and saving two match points in a remarkable 111-minute second set, which saw him win a 12-10 tiebreak. The former US Open finalist eventually claimed victory 3-6 7-6(10) 6-2 in three hours and 20 minutes, with the match finishing at 4:56am.

The first-round match took the record for the latest ending to a men’s singles match, previously held by Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis at the 2008 Australian Open. On that occasion, the Rod Laver Arena night session didn’t start until 10pm, with Hewitt and Baghdatis going second and playing a 4hr45m five-setter that ended at 4:33am.