Carlos Alcaraz booked his spot in the semi-finals of the US Open after defeating Italy's Jannik Sinner in the second-longest match in the tournament's history.
The Spanish third seed came through 6-3 6-7[7] 6-7[0] 7-5 6-3 in a match that lasted five hours and 15 minutes at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, with only Stefan Edberg's five-hour and 26-minute semi-final win over Michael Chang in 1992 beating it.
Neither player was able to truly stamp their authority on their service games, with a total of 42 break points brought up in the match, and Alcaraz took 11 of the 26 on offer to him.
Despite being unable to match Sinner's superiority in the tie-breaks, the 19-year-old continued to star with his second serves - winning 71% of those points and even saving a match point - and a Sinner backhand into the net handed the Spaniard the chance to serve for a spot in the semi-final.
Alcaraz soon brought up match point in his service game and needed just the one opportunity to finish off Sinner with an ace - only his fifth of the day - before collapsing in jubilation onto the court.
"I still don't know how I did it! The level that I played, the high quality of tennis, Jannik Sinner is a great player as everybody could see, his level is just amazing," a beaming Alcaraz said on his on-court interview.
"I just needed to believe in myself, believe in my game. I have to try to stay calm but it was difficult to stay calm in that moment [the match point to Sinner]."
Alcaraz - who is aiming to become the youngest world number one in history - will now face off against home favourite Frances Tiafoe of the USA for a place in the final, where either Russia's Karen Khachanov or Norway's Casper Ruud will be waiting.
Prior to Alcaraz's five-set win, women's number one seed Iga Swiatek set up a final-four battle with Aryna Sabalenka after beating Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-6[4], with Ons Jabeur and Caroline Garcia doing battle in the other semi-final.
Ben Knapton
