‘Speechless’ Maria Sakkari stuns Bianca Andreescu in record-breaking midnight marathon

Maria Sakkari and Bianca Andreescu did battle into the early morning hours in front of an ecstatic Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.

The two women fought hard in a true epic in New York, with Sakkari eventually coming out on top 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

The match lasted a gruelling three and a half hours, just shy of the longest played in the women’s singles in US Open history.

Sakkari and Andreescu did however break the record for the latest finish to a women’s match at the US Open, as the contest concluded at 2:13am local time.

“I was actually prepared for 7-6 in the third,” Sakkari revealed in her on-court interview.

“I actually told Tom (Hill, her coach) before the match that I’m prepared for 7-6 in the third but if it comes easier then I’ll take it.

“I knew it was gonna be a very tough match. [Bianca] loves this court. She has her best memories [here].

“I mean, playing with a crowd especially. I dunno, it’s so good for both of us…I’m sorry, I’m speechless,” the Greek tailed off as the crowd applauded.

The two stars had a similar encounter in the semi-finals of the Miami Open earlier this year, playing out a three-setter with two tiebreaks and approaching three hours on-court.

There, Andreescu was the victor, something Sakkari was able to reverse under the lights on Arthur Ashe.

With the victory, Sakkari makes more history as the first Greek player, man or woman, to reach the singles quarter-finals of the US Open.

She will next face world number four and 2016 US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova for a place in the semi-finals.

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