Lesia Tsurenko won 20-18 in the super tie-break to defeat Ana Bogdan 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(18) in the third round of Wimbledon on July 7.
The 38-point tie-break between Tsurenko and Bogdan is also the longest in women's singles history at a Grand Slam tournament. The previous record was 36 points, in the first-set tie-break between Denisa Allertova and Johanna Konta in the first round of Roland Garros 2016.
Tsurenko was exhausted after a three-hour, 40-minute match on Court 14. Photo: Reuters
Wimbledon has only seen two 38-point tie-breaks in its history. In 1973, Bjorn Borg defeated Premijt Lall 20-18 in a nerve-wracking first-round tie-break in the men's singles.
The super tie-break would not have happened if Bogdan had taken advantage of a 5-3 lead in the final set. Tsurenko won three games in a row to lead 6-5, then missed his first match point in the next service game. Bogdan won the return game to send the match into a tie-break at 10.
Tsurenko led 5-1 in the set, but Bogdan tied it at 5-5. After that, neither player led by more than a point, until Tsurenko took advantage of his seventh match point and won 20-18. After a rally of 26 rallies, Tsurenko collapsed to the floor in victory, exhausted. Before that, the Ukrainian had to save five match points in the tie-break.
The decisive point of the Tsurenko - Bogdan match on July 7.
The tense match on Court 14 saw both players suffer cramps in the final set and require medical attention. The victory, which took three hours and 40 minutes, saw Tsurenko reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the second time in a row. It was also her best result at Wimbledon in 11 appearances. Tsurenko will face fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the fourth round.
Also in the fourth round is Elina Svitolina, who beat Sofia Kenin 7-6, 6-2. Tsurenko's compatriot will next face Belarusian 19th seed Victoria Azarenka. Another fourth-round clash sees top seed Iga Swiatek take on 14th seed Belinda Bencic.
Vy Anh
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