“It’s not over until it’s over,” wrote Iga Swiatek on social media, shortly after claiming a tenacious three-set victory over Danielle Collins at the Australian Open.
On a day at Melbourne Park that felt like it might never be over, those words were to acquire greater resonance than the Polish world No 1 could possibly have imagined.
When Swiatek fought back from the brink of defeat in the opening match in Rod Laver Arena, it seemed the day’s big story had arrived early. It has been three and a half months since the 22-year-old was last beaten and, although a tricky draw meant that run was always bound to come under threat at Melbourne Park, a second-round defeat would still have felt seismic. With two hours and 48 minutes gone, however, it seemed inevitable.
Having recovered from a set and a break down, Collins was 4-1 up in the decider and at her big-hitting best, her ferocious competitive instincts in overdrive as she nailed returns and crushed groundstrokes with the same force and fearlessness that overwhelmed Swiatek in the semi-finals two years ago. The Pole said then that she had never faced a faster ball on the match court and, while she has become a far more accomplished player in the interim, first-strike power and untrammelled aggression remain the surest way to discomfit her. As she trailed by a double break, the outlook seemed bleak for the top seed. Unperturbed, she reeled off five consecutive games to complete an unforgettable comeback that extended her winning streak to 18 matches.
“The only thing you can do is just try again,” said Swiatek after completing a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory in three hours and 14 minutes. “At that point you kind of know that you may lose. You can actually relax a little bit more because you know that, ‘OK, probably I’m going to lose, so I don’t care any more.’ Then it’s easier. Sometimes it works like that. But it doesn’t change the fact that I just kept trying.”
Having beaten a former champion and a former finalist in her first two matches, there is already an epic feel about Swiatek’s progress in Melbourne. “Thriller,” she wrote on a TV camera lens at the end; and a thriller it was. Yet, on a day that just kept going and going, it was also merely an hors d’ouevre.
By the time Elena Rybakina and Anna Blinkova arrived on Laver, Carlos Alcaraz had dropped his first set of the tournament before coming through 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, and Jessica Pegula had temporarily become the biggest casualty of the women’s draw, a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Clara Burel of France marking the fifth-seeded American’s earliest loss since at a major in two and a half years.
They had a lot to live up to, then, Rybakina and Blinkova. And over the two hours and 46 minutes that followed, they did not disappoint. In a contest of labyrinthine twists and turns, Blinkova variously led by a set and a break, held a 4-2 lead in the decider, served for victory at 6-5 only to be denied two match points, and then double-faulted to set up what the International Tennis Federation later declared was the longest singles tiebreak in grand slam history.
Seeded third and expected to meet Swiatek in the semi-finals, Rybakina was regarded by many as the title favourite after demolishing Aryna Sabalenka, the Belarusian who defeated her in last year’s Australian Open final, at a warm-up event in Brisbane. But on an evening when she was below her best, the 24-year-old Kazakhstani could not quite match Swiatek’s feat of escapology. Her forehand, the source of 29 of her 46 unforced errors, repeatedly betrayed her, and although she battled to the end, Rybakina could not avert an upset. After saving nine match points and squandering six of her own, the former Wimbledon champion was edged out by the thinnest of margins in a 30-minute, 42-point thrill-fest of a tiebreak.
“This day I’ll remember for the rest of my life, especially on this court, with this crowd. I’ll never forget it,” said Blinkova, a 25-year-old Russian ranked 57th, following her 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (22-20) victory. “It’s the best day of my life so far.
“It was super tough. I just tried to focus on every point. I had so many match points. I tried to be aggressive, but my hand was shaking – and my legs, too.”
By that point, Blinkova wasn’t alone. Even the most hardened tennis enthusiast had got their money’s worth. Nerves were frayed, eyes bloodshot and adrenaline exhausted. It was well after 11pm, Holger Rune had suffered a shock four-set defeat to Arthur Cazaux, a 21-year-old French wild card, and Daniil Medvedev, the third seed, was still waiting to start his match against Emil Ruusuvuori.
But still the show went on. And on. And on.
With Ruusuvuori flying, Medvedev, seeded third and a veteran of two finals, dropped the first two sets. Then, shortly after 1.30am, the redoubtable Russian began one of the finest comebacks of his career. Eventually, four hours and 23 minutes after the first ball was struck, Medvedev emerged with a 3-6, 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 6-0 victory. It was 3.40am, and day five of the Australian Open had given way to day six of the Australian Open. Medvedev caught the prevailing mood perfectly.
“What is it, like, 3.40 in the morning? Honestly guys, I would not be here,” smiled the Russian, addressing the few hardy souls who remained. “Thanks for staying. If I would be a tennis fan and I would come, at 1am I would be like, ‘OK, let’s go home, we’re going to catch the end of the match on the TV. We’re going to catch 30 minutes and then go to bed.’ Thanks guys, you are strong. Strong!”
Whether such strength should be required is another matter. Before the event, new scheduling rules were announced that will ensure no match starts after 11pm without specific approval from the tournament supervisor. But those rules, which also dictate that matches not underway by 10.30pm should be moved to an alternative court, apply only to ATP and WTA events. The grand slams are free to do as they please; and at the Australian Open, where Andy Murray infamously completed a marathon win over Thanasi Kokkinakkis at 4.05am last year, what pleases the tournament may not be so agreeable to the players.
On the eve of this year’s event, Murray responded with scepticism to organisers’ claims that starting the event a day early would minimise such late shows. “I don’t think the Sunday start will change the late finishes,” said the former world No 1 of a decision that always seemed more likely to benefit the tournament’s coffers than its players. He was, of course, right. In fact, spreading the first round of matches over three days rather than two created more problems than it solved, with Alex De Minaur among those unhappy about the extra rest afforded prospective opponents who played on the opening day.
More promising, in principle, is the decision to reduce the number of day-session matches on the two main show courts from three to two. Yet the unexpected rainfall that disrupted Swiatek and Collins after just six games, necessitating a pause while the court was dried and the roof closed, underlined the fact that nothing can be taken for granted.
A little common sense would have helped. It was after 8pm by the time Blinkova and Rybakina started; why not simply move Medvedev and Ruusuvuori to another court once it became clear a third set would be required?
In a sport that never sleeps, late finishes have become ever more frequent. From Alexander Zverev clinching victory over Jenson Brooksby at 4.55am two years ago in Acapulco, to Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner battling it out until almost 3am at the 2022 US Open, and Rybakina prevailing at a similar hour against Daria Kasatkina at last year’s Canadian Open, the problem is clear.
Clear, but not new. It is 16 years since Lleyton Hewitt completed a five-set win over Marcos Baghdatis at 4.34am in a match that remains the latest on record at the Australian Open. When will tennis learn that it’s not over until it’s over – and schedule accordingly?