In just two days, the U.S. Open has seen several records broken.
And one of those records was nearly broken again on Tuesday.
1. Longest women's match at US Open
Let’s start with the longest women’s match, which was played on Monday in New York, when American Madison Brengle outlasted Saisai Zheng of China, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in three hours and twenty minutes, making it the longest women’s match in U.S. Open history.
On Tuesday Monica Niculescu defeated Alexandra Panova in a match that featured 15 consecutive breaks of serve (Is that a record?), 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3, in three hours and 18 minutes. Niculescu and Panova’s odyssey was the second-longest match in US Open history, eclipsing Sam Stosur’s epic victory over Nadia Petrova in 2011 (three hours and 16 minutes).
2. New first-round retirement record for majors
A total of 12 retirements in the first two days of the US Open has set the new record for retirements in a single round at any major. Ten on the men’s side and two on the women’s side has once again opened the best-of-five vs. best-of-three debate in tennis. When viewed as a percentage, ten of 64 first round matches ended without a match point (15.6 percent). That can’t be good for fans.
The U.S. Open record for retirements on the men’s side is 11, which occurred in 2011. In that year, the men retired ten times in the first six days. Well, the men have tied that in the first round. Surely, more records will be broken.