Andreescu eliminated from US Open in thrilling match

NEW YORK — Canada’s Bianca Andreescu has finally lost a match at the U.S. Open.

The sixth-seeded Andreescu was ousted in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows by 17th-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece, who went three hours and 29 minutes against the Canadian to grab the last available quarterfinal spot in the women’s singles draw.

Sakkari came back to win 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-3 as Andreescu had trouble with a left leg that was taped by a trainer during a medical timeout in the third set. Andreescu limped around between points down the stretch and her leg buckled a few times.

The marathon match ended at nearly 2:15 a.m.ET. The previous women’s record was a 1:48 a.m. finish for a first-round match in 2016 in which Madison Keys beat Alison Riske; three men’s matches have wrapped up at 2:26 a.m.

Both players’ grunts reverberated off the thousands of unused blue seats in Arthur Ashe Stadium by the end. Fans who remained engaged in dueling first-name chants: “Ma-ri-a!” and “Bi-an-ca!”

Andreescu was 10-0 at the Grand Slam following her 2019 title before falling to Sakkari.

Sakkari will face No. 4 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.

Andreescu, of Mississauga, Ont., was looking to join fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the final eight on the women’s side, but gave up six of the final seven games in the set, with her final shot going into the net to end the match.

Fernandez, the 19-year-old from Laval, Que., will play fifth-ranked Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Tuesday with a spot in the semifinals on the line.

– With files from the Associated Press

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