Late Night Tennis: Not only an issue in Acapulco
When Alexander Zverev and Jenson Brooksby finally finished their match at the ATP Tour 500 tournament in Acapulco, the sun was almost up again. Exceptional even in notoriously late-playing Acapulco.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Feb 22, 2022, 04:37 pm
According to his own statements, Alexander Zverev is a man who generally prefers later starting times to starting in the first game of the day. However, the fact that he only starts a match at half past one in the morning is also something special for the German number one. This was due to the two matches that were scheduled in Acapulco on Monday before Zverev. First, John Isner and Fernando Verdasco set a tournament record by playing intensely for over 3:13 hours. With the better ending for Isner.
But this record was not one for eternity. On the contrary: in the following match on Center Court in Acapulco, lucky losers Stefan Kozlov and Grigor Dimitrov needed another eight minutes longer before the American was the winner. The fact that it was so late for Zverev was also due to the start time of 6 p.m. of the Isner-Verdasco game. Which, given the temperatures in Acapulco, is understandable: When Jenson Brooksby started the first serve shortly after half past one, the thermometer still showed a solid 28 degrees Celsius. By the end of the match at 4:55 a.m. it had at least cooled down a bit.
Murray throws in the towel in Washington
The nice thing about the tournament in Acapulco is that the audience is prepared for a long night, the ranks were still well filled at Zverev and Brooksby. You saw that differently on the tour, more recently in Washington in 2018: Andy Murray only made his win against Marius Copil clear at 3:01 a.m. local time. In front of what felt like eight spectators. And then withdrew from the tournament. Less out of protest than out of consideration for his battered body.
Duels until the early hours of the morning are also known from the US Open with a certain frequency, but the organizers have pulled the ripcord there a little: For a few years now, only two matches have been played in the day session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, so that the evening games can start on time. And on time means at 7 p.m. local time. That too is a shift forward.
For European tennis fans, the Acapulco Late Night Show has the advantage that the top matches are served at the best breakfast time. Alexander Zverev certainly has no objections to this either. But it doesn't have to be quite as late as against Jenson Brooksby in the next appearance against Peter Gojowczyk.