FAA needs record breaker to down resurgent Thiem

Felix Auger Aliassime played the longest match of his career, which ended at 1.40 am on Margaret Court Arena, spending almost 5 hours on the court to win his first round encounter with Dominic Thiem

This exceeded his longest previous match of 4 hours and 42 minutes.

At one point he was just two points from a straight-sets victory but the No. 27 seed was forced to dig deep to grind out a four-hour, 59-minute win.

“There’s a lot of relief,” Auger-Aliassime said afterwards, “It’s crazy, in these matches you go through really all the emotions. It was a great level, a great match, and I started well. Then this is sport, sometimes it sucks. You’re trying your best, and he also played well, and it was a struggle for me.

“At the end, I didn’t want to fail mentally. I didn’t want to disappoint myself with my effort or have any regrets when leaving this court today. It was frustrating, the way it went in that third set. I thought, ‘You need to be tough, you need to stay strong’, and I’m happy I did because now I’m really happy.”

Auger-Aliassime, ranked No 30, will face qualifier Hugo Grenier next.

At the end of an intense match, which included a  “Seagull stops play”  time-out the Canadian cheekily signed the customary checkout on the on court TV camera with  “FAA – Good morning!” (smiley face emoji)

Eurosport Commentators also had a strong message for Tournament director Craig Tiley.  Chris Bradenham said “Craig Tiley’s going to have to eat his words isn’t he? The first time ever Sunday start (was supposed to put an end to these early morning finishes) It doesn’t make any sense at all”

Co-commentator, former British No. 1  Jo Durie  added “They should do what Wimbledon does, all play finishes at 11pm. – comeback tomorrow”