Samantha Stosur saved four match points in a thrilling third set as she fought back to beat Russian Elena Dementieva 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 and reach the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open in the early hours of Monday morning.
The fifth-seeded Australian won the climactic tiebreaker 7-2 to end the titanic, two-hour 38-minute encounter at about 1:36 a.m. (0536 GMT) in the latest-ending women's match ever staged at the U.S. Open.
The third set produced the best tennis of the women's tournament so far, with French Open finalist Stosur saving one match point when 12th seed Dementieva served at 5-3 and three more on her own serve in the next game.
The see-saw struggle saw both players raise their games in the final set, ripping groundstrokes with abandon and going for the lines.
In the end it was Stosur who held her nerve best, drawing errors from the usually steady Russian and clinching the decider on two forehand errors from the Olympic champion, who was runner-up at the U.S. Open in 2004.
"I think we both played a great match," Stosur told the appreciative crowd that stayed late into the night. "We went for it and just gave it our best.
"To have a match like that here is just fantastic."
Stosur had never before got past the second round at Flushing Meadows.
"I think the last year and half I've been playing much better and really found my confidence and belief," she added.
"So to come here and get my best result ever is great. Hopefully I can keep on going for a few more."
The victory lifted Stosur into a quarter-finals showdown against second-seeded defending champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium.
"I think she's won 18 matches in a row here," Stosur said of Clijsters, who also won in 2005 before her temporary retirement.
"It's not going to be easy, but I'll give it my best."
