Enlarge image
Alexander Zverev
Photo: Eduardo Verdugo/AP
In a historic night shift in Acapulco, Alexander Zverev beat the American Jenson Brooksby 3: 6, 7: 6 (12:10), 6: 2.
Olympic champion Zverev, who had to fend off two match points in the second set, made the round of 16 perfect at 4.54 a.m. local time - no match on the ATP tour had ended that late.
The reason for the night shift: Zverev's game had only started at 1.30 a.m. local time because the two previous matches in the evening session had each lasted longer than three hours.
Zverev struggled in the first set against Brooksby, who made a big leap in the world rankings last year.
Brooksby hit Zverev with strong returns.
In the second round it was a balanced match at a high level, in which Zverev needed strong nerves.
Towards the end of the final set, athletes and crowd alike looked weary in Acapulco.
No more sitting down to avoid calf cramps
The extent of the ordeal was clearly visible in the last sentence: Zverev and Brooksby's movements now seemed slowed down, it was all about who would last longer.
In the end, Zverev didn't even sit down in the breaks between serves to avoid calf cramps.
His opponent Brooksby was on the verge of tears from exhaustion after the game.
The previous record for the latest game to end was set by Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) and Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) at the 2008 Australian Open, ending at 4:34 a.m.
After his success, Zverev now meets Peter Gojowczyk from Munich, who was most likely still in bed at the end of the game.
Gojowczyk, who slipped into the main draw as a lucky loser, beat Brandon Nakashima (USA) 6-4, 6-4.
On the other hand, Oscar Otte from Cologne, who lost to the Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 2: 6, 4: 6, was eliminated.
see/sid
