New York: Britain’s world number 97 Johanna Konta shocked Wimbledon runner-up Garbine Muguruza in the longest women’s match in US Open history yesterday.
Konta won in 3 hours 23 minutes with her 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (4/7), 6-2 triumph eclipsing by seven minutes the previous record set in 2011 when Samantha Stosur defeated Nadia Petrova.v
“I am so tired. I think both of us were,” said Konta, who hit 10 aces and 36 winners in a match played in fierce 30-degree heat.
“She didn’t play her best but she is an incredible fighter and always brings a top-10 mentality.
“I came out to give my best. I was humble enough to know that she could beat me so I fought and chased down every ball.”
Sydney-born Konta has now won 15 matches in a row since Wimbledon and goes on to tackle German 18th seed Andrea Petkovic for a place in the last 16.
Muguruza committed 59 unforced errors and had to save 15 of 19 breavk points.
Ninth seeded Muguruza became the vfifth top-10 seed to crash out of this year’s tournament before the third round.
The 21-year-old Spaniard joins first round victims, sixth seed Lucie Safarova, seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic, number eight Karolina Pliskova and 10th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro on the sidelines.
With Maria Sharapova having withdrawn through injury on the eve of the season’s concluding Grand Slam, the women’s draw was down to its bare bones.
Top seed Serena Williams and second seed Simona Halep are already in the last 32.
Australian 22nd seed Stosur, the last woman to beat Serena Williams at the US Open four years ago when she took the title, breezed past Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina – one of two mothers to have reached the second round – 6-1, 6-1.
Stosur, 31, fired eight aces with no double faults and hit 29 winners in her quick-fire win, which gave her a third-round encounter against Italian 16th seed Sara Errani.
Halep advanced by defeating Ukraine’s 104th-ranked Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3, 6-4.
The 23-year-old Halep will next face either Japan’s Karumi Nara or American Shelby Rogers.
Victoria Azarenka, seeded at 20 and the 2012 and 2013 runner-up to Williams, also made the last 32.
The Belarusian, playing in just her 13th tournament of an injury-hit season, saw off 2009 semi-finalist Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium, 7-5, 6-4.
“She doesn’t give you much time. She came out firing and I had to fight and dig deep,” said the 26-year-old.
Errani made the next stage by seeing off Latvian qualifier Jelena Ostapenko 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 with Petkovic defeating Russia’s Elena Vesnina 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).