Taking the court against an on-fire Daria Gavrilova on Thursday, Shelby Rogers knew she had her work cut out for her. What she didn't know was that in the 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-6 (5) win, the pair would set a record for longest women's match in US Open history.
"I knew how hard it was to close that match out. We'd been battling out there," Rogers said. "I knew it was going to be a really tough fight going into it. She's been playing really well, she's super confident, she makes you earn every single point. I was definitely ready for that.
"Then I looked at the clock after, yeah. Setting records, there you go."
There you go. Three hours and 33 minutes later, Rogers advanced to the third round over the recent New Haven champion. The American had triple match point before the third-set tiebreaker, but couldn't close. Gavrilova then challenged on match point in the tiebreaker, while the two shared a moment at the net, waiting for the call, and somehow, both smiling. Eventually, it was time for the handshake, or hug.
