Simona Halep Survives Record-Tying Marathon Third Set
Fortunately, the weather had a heart.
Not sure how Simona Halep and Lauren Davis would've handled the blast furnace conditions that have been frequent visitors to the Australian Open this year.
It was enough of a challenge just completing their 3 hour, 44 minute match.
The Romanian finally prevailed -- 4-6, 6-4, 15-13 -- after escaping three match points.
Two of the smaller competitors on the women's tour -- Halep is 5-9; Davis is 5-2 -- equalled the women's singles Australian Open record for longest match in terms of games played.
The other one happened in the1996 quarter-final between Chanda Rubin and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Rubin won it, 6-4, 2-6, 16-14.
Well, it did. And did. And did.
The third set lasted an amazing 142 minutes. Halep played through a turned ankle, while Davis was treated twice for toenail issues.
Davis came into the Australian Open ranked No 76, but on this day, no one could've convinced the world No 1 of that:
So how was your morning, @Simona_Halep? 🙊🙈😳💪 Amazing effort by both ladies. Epic match. Really proud of you Simo 🤗👊 #teamhugs pic.twitter.com/mjE5CjtacK
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) January 20, 2018
No lie.
At least Davis will have more time to recover. Halep's got a fourth-round match against Japan's Naomi Osaka on Mon 22 Jan. She's ranked No 72.
It's a surety Halep will disregard that number.