By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
It was not a banner season for the U.S. Davis Cup team in 2019, but it was one for the record books.
U.S. team members Sam Querrey and Jack Sock defeated Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-4 to clinch a 2-1 round-robin victory over Italy in a match that ended at 4:04 am local time in Madrid, the latest finish in the history of Davis Cup and the second-latest finish on record ever in pro tennis.
The U.S.- Italy match spanned eight hours in total and was delayed by two hours based on the length of the Germany vs. Argentina match that ended with a match the ended with a doubles match with a scoreline of 6-7(4) 7-6(2) 7-6(18). The previous latest finish to a pro tennis match on record came at 4:34 a.m. when Lleyton Hewitt beat Marcos Baghdatis at the 2008 Australian Open.
Quipped U.S. Davis Cup Captain Mardy Fish in the early hours of the morning after the Querrey-Sock victory, “I don’t where we are we, what time it is, what day it is but that was pretty special from these guys.”
The previous latest for a U.S. Davis Cup tie was at 2:35 on March 16, 1987, as documented in my “On This Day in Tennis History” book below:
March 16, 1987 – In a match completed at 2:35 am, Victor Pecci of Paraguay defeats Aaron Krickstein 6-2, 8-6, 9-7 to give Paraguay a startling 3-2 upset of the United States in the Davis Cup first round in Asuncion, Paraguay. Pecci’s win comes after 285th-ranked Hugo Chapacu upsets Jimmy Arias 6-4, 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 9-7 – saving three match points – in 5 hours, 5 minutes to pull Paraguay even with the United States at 2-2. Pecci’s win creates a melee on court as fans envelop the court following match point and carry Pecci – along with teammates Chapacu and Francisco Gonzalez – around the court. Says U.S. Davis Cup Captain Tom Gorman, “I think the world of tennis must recognize that Paraguay is tough to beat playing in Asuncion. I don’t know what we could have done more than we did. Naturally, I have a tremendous feeling of disappointment.”
The doubles win capped an amazing comeback victory for the U.S. team, who were points from elimination after being down 0-1, American No. 1 Taylor Fritz was points from the U.S. being defeated by scraped out a win over world No. 8 Matteo Berrettini 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-2 to tie the match at 1-1 after fellow Davis Cup rookie Reilly Opelka was defeated by No. 12-ranked Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3 to put the U.S. in the early 0-1 hole in the first match.
Unfortunately for the United States, the epic U.S. victory over Italy was not enough for the team to advance into the Davis Cup quarterfinals with a 1-1 round robin record. The U.S. was not able to advance through a complicated tiebreaker system of percentage of sets and games won that is too difficult to easily explain with other nations with 1-1 round-robin records. In their opening round-robin match, the United States was defeated by Canada 2-1.
A comprehensive list of all of the latest finishing matches in tennis history can be found in the book “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” book here: https://www.amazon.com/Bud-Collins-History-Tennis/dp/1937559386/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Bud+Collins+History+of+Tennis&qid=1574347218&sr=8-1
