The star match of the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday, which featured Rafa Jódar and Joao Fonseca, The fifth and last of the Manolo Santana track was scheduled. It was the second of the night session after the duel between Elena Rybakina and Qinwen Zheng. The three sets that the Kazakh and the Chinese needed, (the match lasted 2 hours and 21 minutes) caused the start of the Jódar-Fonseca to be delayed until 10:50 p.m..
That means 10 minutes before the limit set by the ATP regulations from 2024 and that does not allow duels to start after 11:00 p.m. unless permitted by the ATP supervisor in consultation with the tournament management.
Both the men’s and women’s circuits seek to end club hours in tennis. Alexander Zverev and Jenson Brooksby hold the record.
Their match in Acapulco, in the 2022 edition, ended at 4:55 in the morning. They beat the limit that Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis had established at the 2008 Australian Open. Both were exchanging blows until 4.34. The historic podium is closed by Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis. Their match, in the first major of 2023, concluded at 4:05.
