U.S. Open: Madison Keys now holds record for latest match won

Madison Keys now has a U.S. Open record, though one she would have preferred not to hold.

She defeated fellow American Alison Riske Monday night in a match on Arthur Ashe Stadium Court that end at 1:48 a.m. Tuesday, the latest any women’s match has ended in the history of the tournament, breaking the record of 1:35 a.m. set by Samantha Stosur and Elena Dementiava in 2010.

The match was going to be a late start, given the opening ceremonies to begin the night session, followed by Novak Djokovic’s four-set win over Jerzy Janowicz. Keys and Riske began play at 11:23 p.m. Monday.

“It’ not that bad, we both knew we were going to be on late today,” Keys said. “I slept until almost 11 this morning.”

Keys, the eighth seed, won 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2. The second set took 69 minutes and Keys was with within two points of losing when Riske reached five points in the tiebreaker. But Keys won a long rally, then closed the set out, and won handily in the third set. Two of her matches numbers stood out: 60 winners, 60 unforced errors.

“Being a set down and a break first round of the U.S. Open is never a comfortable feeling,” Keys said. “I knew if I let panic set in, then it would just go downhill, so it was a very conscious effort to stay mellow and clear thinking.”

Did she enjoy having the record for the latest match?

“Now that I’m part of it, yea!” she said. “Let’s try not to break it.”

Ivanovic ousted early

Ana Ivanovic was down, really, down, and decidedly out. She lost her first-round match to Denisa Allertova, 7-6 (4), 6-1, continuing a winless season of mediocre play. She had a set point in the first, didn’t convert, and it all went downhill.

“I went for a big forehand and it was quite a bad miss,” Ivanovic said, who then tried to dial back her shots a little in the second set to make fewer errors. The strategy didn’t work.

“I tried to go for less because I tried to make less errors, and ended up making more,” she said.

There sounds like there could be a downsizing in her future.

“I have four people traveling with me trying to make sure I’m on the right path and doing the right things,” Ivanovic said. “Before when I traveled with one or two persons I was doing much better . . . These are things I have to think about.”

Stan’s fashion statement

Stan Wawrinka, who frequently wear black tennis garb, showed up brightly attired for his match against Fernando Verdasco, which he won on Ashe Stadium. His clothing sponsor, Yonex, sent him out in fuchsia shirt and shorts [he called it pink].

“Yeah, it’s a bright year for me so far,” Wawrinka said. “First time I’m going with the pink shirt and short. We’ll see how it looks on the picture and then I will decide if I go back to the black one.”