2021's Longest Matches
Marathon Marvels 2021: The longest matches of the year
42 WTA main draw matches clocked in at three hours or more during 2021. They included three of the eight longest matches of the Open Era, the joint two longest US Open matches in history, the longest Roland Garros semifinal ever and the longest Indian Wells women's final.
01
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Kristina Kucova d. [Q] Ekaterine Gorgodze 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 7-6(3), Gdynia QF (3h55m). Kucova saved four match points in the second set en route to victory in the 6th longest match of the Open Era, and went on to reach her first WTA final.
Photo by Andrzej Szkocki
02
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[Q] Martina Trevisan d. Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-4, Indian Wells R1 (3h52m). Victory in the 7th longest match of the Open Era extended a hot streak for Trevisan, who won the 13th of her past 15 matches.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
03
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Sara Sorribes Tormo d. [WC] Camila Giorgi 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 7-5, Rome R1 (3h51m). Sorribes Tormo saved three set points in the first set and recovered from 0-4 in the third set to win the 8th longest match of the Open Era.
Photo by Getty Images
04
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[15] Elise Mertens d. Rebecca Peterson 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5), US Open R1 (3h40m). Day 1 of the US Open saw a joint record set for longest ever women's singles match at the tournament, with two-time quarterfinalist Mertens saving six match points to do so.
Photo by Kathryn Riley/USTA
05
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[Q] Rebeka Masarova d. Ana Bogdan 6-7(9), 7-6(2), 7-6(9), US Open R1 (3h40m). Minutes after Mertens set the new record, Masarova equalled it, scoring a memorable Grand Slam debut after coming back from 0-3 in the second set and saving two match points.
Photo by Manuela Davies/USTA
06
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Irina-Camelia Begu d. [5] Johanna Konta 4-6, 7-6(10), 7-6(4), Gippsland Trophy R3 (3h33m). Begu saved two match points en route to her 13th Top 20 win, and first since 2018.
Photo by Getty Images
07
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[17] Maria Sakkari d. [6] Bianca Andreescu 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-3, US Open R4 (3h30m). Sakkari avenged a 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(4) loss to Andreescu in the 2021 Miami SF (2h42m, ended at 1:35am) in the US Open's latest ever women's singles finish (2:13am).
Photo by Garrett Ellwood/USTA
08
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Varvara Gracheva d. [3] Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4), Tenerife R1 (3h26m). Gracheva came from 1-5 down in the third set to score her 4th Top 50 win of 2021. It was Sorribes Tormo's sixth match of the year over three hours in length.
Photo by Marta Magni Images/MEF Tennis Events
09
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Yulia Putintseva d. Zhang Shuai 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-4, Ostrava R1 (3h24m). Putintseva lost the first set from 5-3 up (missing two set points), won the second from 2-5 down (saving one match point) and won the third from a break down at 3-4.
Photo by Pavel Lebeda
10
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Sara Sorribes Tormo d. Bernarda Pera 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, Abu Dhabi R2 (3h23m). The first of six matches over three hours in length that Sorribes Tormo played in 2021.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
11
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[7] Shelby Rogers d. Christina McHale 7-5, 6-7(6), 7-5, Strasbourg R1 (3h23m). Rogers missed a match point in the second-set tiebreak and in the decider let a 4-1 lead slip - but saved a match point down 4-5 and sealed victory on her second.
Photo by Internationaux de Strasbourg/C'est qui Maurice?/Michel Grasso
12
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Tamara Zidansek d. [6] Bianca Andreescu 6-7(1), 7-6(2), 9-7, Roland Garros R1 (3h20m). Zidansek was two points from losing in both sets two and three, but held on to score her first Top 10 win - and thence go all the way to the semifinals.
Photo by Getty Images
13
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[4] Yulia Putintseva d. Rebecca Peterson 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2), Strasbourg R1 (3h20m). Putintseva's clay epics are frequently among each season's longest matches, and she fought back for this win despite Peterson twice serving for victory.
Photo by Internationaux de Strasbourg/C'est qui Maurice?/Michel Grasso
14
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Ivana Jorovic d. [Q] Jaqueline Cristian 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(3), Budapest R1 (3h20m). Jorovic saved one match point en route to her first WTA win since Wimbledon 2019, in the fifth event of her comeback from elbow surgery in December 2019.
Photo by Trenka Attila/Hungarian Grand Prix
15
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Anastasia Potapova d. [6] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6(2), 6-7(8), 6-4, Istanbul R1 (3h20m). An all-Russian first-time meeting spread over two days saw Potapova recover after losing a 5-3 lead and one match point in the second set.
Photo by Gökhan Taner
16
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[25] Angelique Kerber d. Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, Wimbledon R2 (3h19m). The longest women's singles match at Wimbledon since Tamira Paszek's 3h43m defeat of Francesca Schiavone in the 2011 third round.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
17
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Barbora Krejcikova d. [17] Maria Sakkari 7-5, 4-6, 9-7, Roland Garros SF (3h18m). The longest Roland Garros semifinal in the Open Era saw Krejcikova reach her first Grand Slam singles final, saving one match point before taking her fifth.
Photo by Getty Images
18
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[13] Marie Bouzkova d. [2] Bianca Andreescu 6-7(9), 6-2, 7-5, Phillip Island Trophy SF (3h17m). Bouzkova saved two match points to reach her second WTA final with her fourth career Top 10 win.
Photo by Tennis Australia/Luke Hemer
19
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Caty McNally d. Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3, Gippsland Trophy R1 (3h16m). McNally was competing as an alternate, having lost in Australian Open qualifying.
Photo by Getty Images
20
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[LL] Georgina García Pérez d. [18] Christina McHale 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-5, Nottingham R2 (3h16m). This victory marked the first time that World No.184 García Pérez, 29, had won consecutive matches in a WTA main draw.
Photo by Getty Images
21
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Greet Minnen d. Nuria Párrizas Díaz 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 7-6(2), Luxembourg R1 (3h12m). Minnen served at 6-5 in set two and led 5-2 in the third before avenging a 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(7) loss to the Spaniard in the Landisville ITF W100 one month prior.
Photo by IWTP
22
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[WC] Vera Zvonareva d. [3] Fiona Ferro 6-7(6), 7-5, 7-6(2), St. Petersburg R2 (3h10m). Zvonareva, 36, won the longest match in tournament history to reach her first WTA quarterfinal since St. Petersburg 2019.
Photo by Formula TX
23
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Ajla Tomljanovic d. [1] Elise Mertens 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-6(4), Birmingham R1 (3h9m). Tomljanovic saved a set point in the first set en route to her ninth career Top 20 win.
Photo by Getty Images for LTA
24
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Nao Hibino d. [5] Misaki Doi 7-5, 5-7, 6-6 ret., Charleston 250 R1 (3h9m). A rematch of the 2019 Hiroshima final, Hibino lost a 5-1 lead in the second set but saved five match points down 2-5 in the third before Doi retired due to muscle cramps.
Photo by MUSC Health Women's Open/Chris Smith
25
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Sara Sorribes Tormo d. Liudmila Samsonova 6-7(6), 6-1, 7-6(4), Phillip Island Trophy R1 (3h8m). Sorribes Tormo lost the first set from quadruple set point up in the tiebreak, but saved two match points serving down 4-5 in the decider.
Photo by Tennis Australia/Jonathan Di Maggio
26
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[Q] Anastasia Gasanova d. [5] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 1-6, 7-6(8), 7-6(4), St. Petersburg R2 (3h8m). World No.241 Gasanova went over three hours on two days running to reach her first WTA quarterfinal, saving three match points in her second round.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
27
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Varvara Lepchenko d. [LL] Marina Melnikova 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, Gdynia R1 (3h8m). Lepchenko trailed by a set and 3-5, and was two points from losing on three occasions.
Photo by Andrzej Szkocki
28
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[WC] Tereza Martincova d. [WC] Katerina Siniakova 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(7), Ostrava R1 (3h6m). Martincova came from 0-5 down in the deciding tiebreak to avenge a previous 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(8) loss to Siniakova in the 2015 Nantes ITF W50.
Photo by Getty Images
29
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[4] Elina Svitolina d. Laura Siegemund 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, Tokyo Olympic Games R1 (3h6m). The first and longest of three consecutive three-setters with which Svitolina began her Olympic bronze medal run.
Photo by Kopatsch/Sato/Sidorjak/ITF
30
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Misaki Doi d. Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3, Chicago 500 R1 (3h5m). Doi came within three points of the win in the second set, but ultimately needed a deciding set to quell Bouzkova.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
31
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[Q] Anastasia Gasanova d. Katarina Zavatska 6-2, 6-7(6), 7-5, St. Petersburg R1 (3h4m). Gasanova missed a match point in the second set but eventually won the first of two three-hour epics on consecutive days in St. Petersburg.
Photo by Formula TX
32
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[21] Paula Badosa d. [27] Victoria Azarenka 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-6(2), Indian Wells F (3h4m). Badosa triumphed in the longest final of 2021, and the longest in tournament history, for her second title and first at WTA 1000 level.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
33
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[8] Kristina Kucova d. Irina Bara 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5), Cluj-Napoca R2 (3h4m). The second time in three weeks that Kucova defeated Bara from a set down in an epic, having also won their Gdynia second round 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in 2h50m.
Photo by Winners Open Cluj-Napoca
34
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Bernarda Pera d. [16] Donna Vekic 7-6(10), 2-6, 6-4, Abu Dhabi R1 (3h4m). The first of back-to-back matches over three hours long for Pera in Abu Dhabi.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
35
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Kirsten Flipkens d. Laura Siegemund 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, Abu Dhabi R1 (3h4m). Flipkens' third win over Siegemund in five meetings, but first at WTA level.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
36
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[LL] Kristie Ahn d. Heather Watson 2-6, 7-6(3), 8-6, Wimbledon R1 (3h3m). Ahn only got into the Wimbledon main draw after Simona Halep's withdrawal and saved a match point en route to her first career Wimbledon win.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
37
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[2] Victoria Azarenka d. Alizé Cornet 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7), Bad Homburg R2 (3h2m). Azarenka's eighth win in eight meetings against Cornet was the fourth to go to three sets and the hardest-fought - Azarenka fended off four match points and won on her third.
Photo by Sportfoto Zimmer/Maurer
38
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Kamilla Rakhimova d. [6] Arantxa Rus 7-6(6), 5-7, 7-5, Lausanne R1 (3h2m). Rakhimova was unable to close out a 5-3 second-set lead, but held firm in the decider to complete her second career Top 100 win.
Photo by Ladies Open Lausanne/Mathias Schulz
39
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Daria Kasatkina d. [Q] Irina-Camelia Begu 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1), Madrid R1 (3h1m). Kasatkina led 5-2, 40-0 in the third set but needed eight match points to close out the win, which was her seventh in a row over Begu.
Photo by Jimmie48/WTA
40
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[6] Wang Qiang d. [2] Petra Martic 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-5, Parma QF (3h0m). Wang came into Parma with a 4-11 record in 2021, but played brilliantly in this epic to reach her first semifinal since The Bronx 2019.
Photo by Marta Magni Images/MEF Tennis Events
41
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[3] Veronika Kudermetova d. Bernarda Pera 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4), Istanbul R1 (3h0m). Kudermetova came back from 2-4, 0-40 in the third set to extend her winning streak to seven, while Pera's losing streak reached six.
Photo by Gökhan Taner
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