Aryna Sabalenka battles past Ekaterina Alexandrova in US Open

Aryna Sabalenka, last year's runner-up, demonstrated resilience in overcoming a challenging start to her match at the US Open, ultimately securing a third-round victory against 29th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova with a score of 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The match commenced at 12:08 a.m. on Arthur Ashe Stadium, following a thrilling upset where Alexei Popyrin defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic late Friday night, leaving fans still exhilarated.

The latest recorded match start time at this tournament prior to this encounter was in 1987, when Gabriela Sabatini and Beverly Bowes began their match at midnight, concluding it in 90 minutes.

Initially, a swift conclusion appeared improbable as Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, struggled with a series of unforced errors, resulting in her losing the first set in just 33 minutes.

"I am not sure what happened; I was merely trying to stay focused and return as many balls as possible. She played exceptional tennis in the first set, making it quite challenging to shift momentum," Sabalenka remarked.

However, she quickly regained her form, breaking Alexandrova to take a 3-1 lead in the second set and maintained her dominance, leveling the match with an impressive display of power that overwhelmed her determined Russian opponent.

"I am truly pleased that I managed to turn this match around and secure such a challenging victory," she stated.

Despite being unexpectedly broken after establishing a 5-0 lead in the final set, Sabalenka swiftly delivered the decisive blow with a backhand winner, much to the delight of the remaining crowd.

"Thank you very much for staying so late," Sabalenka expressed as the clock approached 2 a.m.