Carlos Alcaraz has saved a match point in the fourth set before digging deep in the decider to beat Jannik Sinner and reach the US Open semifinals.
The Spanish teenager collapsed on his back after the match — lasting more than five hours — concluded at 2:50 am in New York, beating the previous record for the latest finish at the US Open of 2:26am set in three matches in 1993, 2012 and 2014.
The 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-7 (0-7), 7-5, 6-3 win keeps alive Alcaraz's hopes of winning his first major and claiming the world number one ranking.
"Honestly, I still don't know how I did it," Alcaraz said in an on-court interview.
"The level that I played, the level of the match, the high quality of tennis.
"It's unbelievable."
Alcaraz will face American Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals.
The 19-year-old put his finger to his ear in the fifth set after he raced across court to catch up with a Sinner drop shot and fired it past the Italian to set up break point, bringing fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium to their feet.
Alcaraz converted on the next point when Sinner's shot hit the net for a 5-3 lead and then fired a serve into Sinner's body on match point to end the contest after five hours and 15 minutes.
"Thank you to all of you," he said to the crowd.
Alcaraz was a human highlight reel all night, sliding and diving around the court and hitting a sensational behind-the-back circus shot that set up a forehand winner in the second set.
If the match was a preview of the future of men's tennis, the sport is in safe hands with the 21-year-old Sinner and Alcaraz engaging in one thrilling exchange after another to the delight of the fans.
Sinner struggled to sum up the disappointment.
"It's not easy to talk now because I finished the match," he told reporters.
"It was a good match from my side, from his side … the level was high.
"But very, very tough."
Tiafoe keeps US hopes alive
With the hopes of a nation resting on his shoulders, Tiafoe rose to the occasion by reaching his first major semifinal with a 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/0), 6-4 win over Russia's Andrey Rublev.
He is the only local hope left in the draw, after Coco Gauff and Jess Pegula failed to get past the women's quarterfinals.
Not since Andy Roddick in 2003 has a US man won the title at Flushing Meadows and the pressure was on for the 24-year-old to build on his stunning win over second-seed Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.
He did not disappoint, launching 18 aces and 46 winners in a dominant performance, injecting new excitement among the home crowd after 23-time major winner Serena Williams bowed out in what is expected to be her final appearance in the third round.
"This is wild, this is crazy," Tiafoe said. "We've got two more."
Rublev put up a fight for two sets but his game unravelled as Tiafoe stormed through the second-set tie-break.
The Russian shouted out in anger and whacked his racquet after an ace from the American flew past him.
Rublev tearily bit down on a tennis ball and sat with his face buried in a towel after Tiafoe triumphed in a 16-shot rally to get the only break of the match in the seventh game of the third set.
Tiafoe sealed the win with an ace, to the delight of the roaring crowd seated in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
He is one of three Americans to reach the quarterfinals of the men's and women's singles, but the only one left standing in the semis.
Gauff, 18, went down to Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia on Wednesday morning (AEST), while Pegula lost to world number one Iga Świątek 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
Świątek will face sixth-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the semis, after she calmly took out 2016 US finalist Karolina Plíšková 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).
Reuters/ABC
