NEW YORK (AP) — Tommy Paul and Nuno Borges played well into Friday morning in another post-midnight marathon classic match at the U.S. Open.
Paul eventually came out on top of the 17th-latest finish in tournament history, joining the history books as the second-latest finish in the second round.
“Definitely was happy that it was with the win and not a loss,” Paul said while getting stretched out afterward. “It was a blast. It was an emotional roller coaster, for sure.”
Paul won the first two sets and had a couple of match point chances to close it out in three. He instead lost the third and fourth sets and was tied in the fifth after going up 3-0.
The American seeded 14th broke Borges one final time with a back-and-forth final point to finish off a 7-6 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 7-5 victory.
“I was all twisted around when I hit the last shot,” Paul said. “I didn’t even know if he made it or not. I threw my hands up like I won the point, but I wasn’t actually sure.”
The match that began as the Thursday nightcap at Arthur Ashe Stadium lasted 4 hours, 25 minutes, ending at 1:46 a.m.
Paul thanked the remaining fans for helping him push through and wished more of them were closer to the court.
“I think that they should open it up so the people at the top can come down,” Paul said. “I don’t know why they don’t do that. But yeah, it’s a late one. Definitely my latest match at the Open.”
Paul set up a match with 23rd-seeded Alexander Bublik in the third round.
“It's fun,” Paul said. “We'll be ready for the next one. Totally. It's what we train for.”
Paul against Borges, a 28-year-old from Portugal, was the second late-night epic so far this year. Daniil Medvedev famously melted down during his match on the opening day of the U.S. Open, a 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 0-6, 6-4 loss to Benjamin Bonzi that ended early Monday.
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