The Hologic WTA Tour has a new longest match of 2024, which Katie Volynets won in dramatic fashion in the first round of the Credit One Charleston Open on Monday.
Volynets, the 22-year-old American qualifier ranked No.110, saved two match points before closing out 54th-ranked Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-7(6), 7-6(6). The final match time: 3 hours and 43 minutes.
Photos: All of 2024's three-hour matches
The match lasted one minute longer than the previous longest match of this year, which was Beatriz Haddad Maia's 3-hour and 42-minute victory over Magda Linette in the Abu Dhabi second round.
Three-set rivalry continues: Volynets had already beaten Rus in three sets once before, but via a more expected 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 scoreline in 2 hours and 24 minutes at 2022 Indian Wells.
This time around, the pair battled with heavy groundstroke rallies on the green clay of Charleston. The first set went to Volynets easily as far as the score was concerned -- but it did take 52 minutes to complete.
Volynets even served for a straight-sets victory at 5-4 in the second set, but Rus pulled back on serve before squeaking out the second-set tiebreak without facing a match point.
There were eight service breaks in the third set, where Rus served for the match at 6-5. Here, it was Volynets' turn to break serve and send the final set into the climactic tiebreak.
In the breaker, Rus led 6-4 and held double match point, but the Dutch left-hander could not close out the American. Rus even stopped play during a rally at 6-5, thinking a Volynets ball had gone wide, but the chair umpire inspected the mark, called the ball in and the match continued.
After the changeover, Volynets earned her first match point when Rus chipped a backhand wide. The American only needed one chance as a Rus forehand found the net, giving Volynets the epic win.
Unfortunately for Rus, this is the second time this year she has lost a match lasting over 3 hours and 20 minutes. She also fell to Ana Bogdan 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in 3 hours and 28 minutes in the Cluj-Napoca quarterfinals, the third-longest match of the year.
All-American meeting set: Volynets will now take on a fellow American in the second round -- Charleston's own Emma Navarro, the No.10 seed. Volynets has an undefeated record against Navarro, winning once on the ITF Challenger Circuit and twice in juniors.
