All four quarterfinal matches went the three-set distance on Friday at the Rio Open and the result was nearly the latest finish in ATP tournament history. Both Fabio Fognini and Rafael Nadal played a part in the marathon proceedings.
After David Ferrer and Andreas Haider-Maurer booked spots in the last four, Fognini battled Federico Delbonis for three hours and 12 minutes. The Italian, who saved three match points against Jiri Vesely earlier in the week, needed nine match points before finishing off a 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-6(9) victory.
“It’s always a tough match against Federico, and this was a crazy match,” Fognini assured. “Now I’m happy, and all I want to do is rest well.”
Rest may not be something Nadal gets much of on Friday night–make that Saturday morning. The top-seeded Spaniard took the court against Pablo Cuevas after 1:00 a.m. and he spent more than two hours on court. It could have lasted much longer, but Nadal took complete control after dropping the first set as he raced away from last week’s Sao Paulo champion for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 win.
Tennis Channel’s version of “after hours” (Nadal chancing shorts on the court at 3:00 a.m.):
Cuevas’ tanks last game of the match at 3:18 a.m., avoiding latest finish in ATP history (Grand Slams not included) by six minutes:
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