Muguruza Knocks Out Konta At 3:12AM
Garbine Muguruza and Johanna Konta served up an early-morning treat for those spectators who stuck around in Melbourne.
Garbine Muguruza joked that she was heading for breakfast after beating Johanna Konta at 03:12 local time in the latest match to start in the history of the Australian Open.
Muguruza and Konta did not begin their second-round contest until 00:30 in Melbourne on Friday, a combination of rain and a five-set victory for Alexander Zverev over Jeremy Chardy leaving them patiently waiting to make it out onto the court.
Neither player showed any sign of fatigue in a gripping contest in the early hours on Margaret Court Arena, though, with the 18th seed eventually winning 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 7-5.
It took two hours and 42 minutes to separate the two-time grand slam champion and Konta, a semi-finalist at the tournament in 2016.
Spaniard Muguruza said in her on-court interview: "I can't believe there are people watching us at 3:15am."
"It was very tough. Johanna played very good, serving incredibly and hitting big shots."
Asked what she would do after setting up a match with Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky in the next round, she said:
"I go to breakfast now."