ACAPULCO, Mexico – Alexander Zverev defeated American Jenson Brooksby in Acapulco on Tuesday in a match that ended at 4:54 a.m., a professional tennis record.

The Olympian in Tokyo, No. 3 in the world, won after the night and three hours 19 minutes with 3-6, 7-6 (12/10), 6-2. It was then 04:54 local time.

Two other matches in the history of tennis had previously ended after three o’clock in the morning. The last one dates back to 2008 at the Australian Open when the Australian Lleyton Hewitt defeated the Cypriot Marco Pagdati at 4.34 p.m.

If Jenson Brooksby, 21 and 47th in the world, won the first set, Zverev managed to save two points in the tiebreak of the second set before winning.

The German returns to success after his poor performance in Montpellier, where he was defeated in the final by the Kazakh Alexander Bublik, No. 35 in the world (6-4, 6-3) on February 6.

Zverev will face his compatriot Peter Gojowczyk in the round of 16 in Acapulco.

Kozlov surprises Dimitrov

Stefan Kozlov overcame leg cramps and upset Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-2 to advance to the second round against Rafael Nadal.

Kozlov, who is ranked 130th in the world, secured his place in the main draw after retiring from the qualifiers after the withdrawal of the injured Maxime Cressy.

Kozlov suffered cramps in his right leg at the end of the second set, but continued to play and Dimitrov failed to take advantage of it in the match that lasted three hours and 21 minutes, a tournament record.

Nadal, who won the Australian Open last month, is one of the top five players in Acapulco, along with Melbourne runner-up Daniel Medvedev, defending champion Alexander Zverev and fourth-place finisher Tassi.

The Acapulco Tournament is an ATP 500 tournament. Since the start of this tournament category in 2009, only Dubai in 2012 and Beijing in 2013 have attracted four of the top five players in the world.

The duration of the Kozlov-Dimitrov match broke the tournament record set the same day, when John Isner defeated Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) in three hours and 13 minutes.

Isner, the semifinalist in Acapulco in 2019 and 2020, will then face Cameron Norri or Daniel Altmeier.

In other first round matches, Seventh Player Taylor Fritz defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3. Brandon Nakashima defeated Peter Gojowczyk 6-4, 6-4. Dusan Lajovic defeated Sebastian Corda 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 and eighth Pablo Carenno Busta beat Oscar Ote 6-2, 6-4.