On Wednesday night – or rather, Thursday morning – at Melbourne Park, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina moved into the third round after recovering to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in an epic.
The Spaniard beat the Canadian 6-7(7) 6-7(5) 6-4 6-1 6-3 at 1.15am local time, a match lasting four hours and 51 minutes.
But it’s not even among the top five longest men’s matches played at the Australian Open.
In this flashback, we revisit matches that have provided coming-of-age moments for tennis’ greatest players.
Fans in the stands, and on TV worldwide, have borne witness to some of the longest and most enthralling matches in the sport’s history, right here at Melbourne Park.
Here are the top five longest men’s singles, and five longest women’s singles matches, at the AO.
WOMEN'S SINGLES
5. Chanda Rubin v Arantxa Sanchez Vicario – 1996 quarterfinals
Match time: Three hours, 33 minutes
Result: Rubin won 6-4 2-6 16-14
Then a three-time major champion, reigning finalist and former world No.1, Sanchez Vicario firmed as a convincing favourite, while Rubin had only played in one previous Grand Slam quarterfinal.
That was at Roland Garros in 1995, where she was defeated convincingly by Sanchez Viacrio.
At Rod Laver Arena, Rubin and Sanchez Vicario split the first two sets in a third of the match time.
Although only 19 years of age, Rubin drew on her experience in long matches. During her previous Wimbledon campaign, the American prevailed against Patricia Hy-Boulais 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 17-15 – the most games played in a match in Grand Slam history.
The 13th seed won the final set 16-14, two hours and 22 minutes after it began.
At the time, it was the longest women’s match in Australian Open history.
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova v Jelena Jankovic – 2017 third round
Match time: Three hours, 36 minutes
Result: Kuznetsova won 6-4 5-7 9-7
After falling to Francesca Schiavone in the longest women’s match at the Australian Open six years prior (spoiler alert), the No.8 seed defeated Jelena Jankovic in three hours and 36 minutes.
Both players were entering the late stage of their careers, and sought to make one last push at reaching the second week at Melbourne Park.
Kuznetsova got off to a swift start, leading by a set and a double break. Jankovic would, however, win six of the next seven games to force a deciding set.
Not much could separate the pair in the final set, but when Kuznetsova broke at 8-7, she quashed any hopes of a Jankovic comeback.
3. Simona Halep v Lauren Davis – 2018 third round
Match time: Three hours, 44 minutes
Result: Halep won 4-6 6-4 15-13
The world No.1 almost had her 2018 finals run cut dramatically short by American Lauren Davis, who had never made it past the third round of a major yet nearly pulled off the upset of the tournament
Much like Rubin v Sanchez Vicario, the first two sets were finished comparatively quickly. It would also take a 142-minute final set to separate Halep and Davis.
Halep had opportunities to serve out the match at 5-4, 6-5 and 8-7. However, a resilient Davis helped extend proceedings, as she continuously returned the break of serve.
Both players battled physical ailments, and despite facing three match points at 11-10, Halep’s experience ultimately reigned supreme.
2. Barbora Strycova v Regina Kulikova – 2010 first round
Match time: Four hours, 19 minutes
Result: Strycova won 7-6(5) 6-7(10) 6-3
Regina Kulikova will never forget her Grand Slam debut. A qualifier at the tournament, she was pitted against the world No.67 Barbora Strycova.
Together, the pair would produce the longest women’s Australian Open match at the time – a milestone lasting just one year.
Unlike the other entries on the women’s list, the final set did not extend beyond 13 games.
Strycova managed to create a slight buffer in the deciding set to book a date with reigning finalist Dinara Safina in the second round.
1. Francesca Schiavone v Svetlana Kuznetsova –2011 4R
Match time: Four hours, 44 minutes
Result: Schiavone won 6-4 1-6 16-14
A cheeky grin met with a huge sigh of relief. That is how sixth seed Francesca Schiavone reacted after winning her 2011 fourth-round match against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Her maiden quarterfinal berth at Melbourne Park came after the longest women’s match ever at the Australian Open. If her second-round match against Rebecca Marino – which finished 6-3 5-7 7-9 – didn’t push the envelope, this match surely did.
The final set of this match went three hours and lasted 30 games – tied for the most in Australian Open women’s history.
To put it in perspective, the final set alone lasted longer than 97 per cent of Australian Open 2024 women’s matches.
It would not be the last time these two would meet in an extensive battle. Four years later, the pair produced another lengthy battle at Roland Garros which lasted three hours and 50 minutes.
MEN'S SINGLES
5. Rafael Nadal v Fernando Verdasco – 2009 semifinal
Match time: Five hours, 14 minutes
Result: Nadal won 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(2) 6-7(1) 6-4
Rafael Nadal had not dropped a set en route to his fifth consecutive major semifinal, and was undefeated in his eight encounters with Verdasco.
As for Verdasco, he needed more than three hours to beat Andy Murray in the fourth round, before defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets. However, when the 14th seed stole the first set from Nadal, it was evident a lengthy, entertaining battle was unfolding.
The first all-Spaniard Grand Slam semifinal since Roland Garros 2003 did not disappoint. Two dashing left-handers whose perseverance and craftiness troubled their opponent.
Two Verdasco double faults in the final game of the fifth set saw the world No.1 advance to his maiden Australian Open final.
Two days later he would triumph over great rival Roger Federer.
4. Ivo Karlovic v Horacio Zeballos – 2017 first round
Match time: – Five hours, 15 minutes
Result: Karlovic won 6-7(6) 3-6 7-5 6-2 22-20
Karlovic versus Zeballos – big server versus aggressive shot-maker – was already generating intrigue before it even went to a fifth set.
Add in the longest Australian Open match for games in the tiebreak era, and you have the fourth entry on this list.
A 157-minute final set, which finished at 22-20, saw the match time conclude after five hours and 15 minutes.
Spectators went to all lengths to get a glimpse of the action, peeping through the gaps of the sight screen behind the baseline.
Karlovic sent down 76 aces throughout the match – an Australian Open record.
3. Rafael Nadal v Daniil Medvedev – 2022 Final
Match time: Five hours, 24 minutes
Result: Nadal won 2-6 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 7-5
This match solidified Nadal’s case for being superhuman. Arguably his greatest comeback, Nadal overcame a career-threatening foot injury and COVID-19 to win his first Australian Open in 13 years.
It’s a storyline that was almost on the cutting room floor two and a half hours earlier. Medvedev was nearing victory, leading two sets to love and holding three break points at 0-40 midway through the third.
The reigning US Open champion was on the brink of a second consecutive Grand Slam crown.
Instead, Nadal won four of the next five games to win the third set. Momentum began to swing in favour of the then 20-time major champion, and the crowd began to notice.
An improved return, mixed with grit and determination, secured the comeback victory for Nadal in the longest men’s final in a decade.
2. Andy Murray v Thanasi Kokkinakis – 2023 second round
Match time: Five hours, 45 minutes
Result: Murray won 4-6 6-7(7) 7-6(5) 6-3 7-5
When Thanasi Kokkinakis took a two-set lead against Andy Murray at Australian Open 2023, few expected Murray to be standing victorious several hours later – even less so when Kokkinakis led 5-2 in the third set.
However, Murray weathered the barrage from Kokkinakis through his aggressive play and unwavering commitment in each point.
The Brit ultimately flipped the script, his experience paying dividends. The match concluded at 4:05 am – the latest finish to an Australian Open match since Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis in 2008.
For Murray, the win helped him achieve his best result at Melbourne Park in six years.
1. Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal – 2012 Final
Match time: Five hours, 53 minutes
Result: Djokovic won 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7(5) 7-5
After the match, Novak Djokovic succumbed to cramp as Rafael Nadal leaned on the net.
This was the truest representation of ‘leaving everything out on the court’ – neither player could properly stand during the championship ceremony.
What transpired prior is still unfathomable 13 years later. Six hours of the highest standard of tennis as the arch-rivals battled out arguably the greatest tennis match of all time.
Djokovic and Nadal had a habit of producing epics. Their 2009 Madrid Masters semifinal was the longest three-set match in ATP history, while the previous September they played off in a four-hour, 10-minute epic in the 2011 US Open final.
This would be the third of seven matches between the pair that spanned more than four hours – a record since 1990.