2 Responses to uo21seppi_fucsovics

1. Voo de Mar says:

   August 22, 2025 at 2:34 pm

   Points won by each set: | 14-29, 35-31, 37-34, 17-26, 49-48 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   25 % Seppi – 42 of 163
   26 % Fucsovics – 41 of 157

   Court no. 8, two players with very similar game-styles, and the last exceptionally long classical tie-break in the 5th set! They were within a few points to break the 1987 record (☆ the winner there had also fought off five match points), but through four sets nothing indicated their deciding tie-break would be of titanic proportions because it wasn’t a match dominated by big serves. The 37-year Seppi [89] used his vast experience (44th five-setter) to hang in there against a very muscular eight years younger opponent, who ultimately looked more tired. The Italian from South-Tyrol saved mini set points in two sets (5-all in 2nd, 4-all in 3rd set – Fucsovics devastated his racquet after that set) with unreturned serves, and in two other sets when he was broken early, he didn’t seem as someone who would do a lot to erase the deficit. In the decider he was carefully holding his serve, but failed to win it comfortably while leading *4:2 (30/15)… at 6:5 he squandered his first match point. In the tie-break Fucsovics led *4:1 before wasting five match points:
   *6:4 (double fault and FH error by a few centimetres),
   8:7 & 10:9 (unreturned serves),
   at *11:10 the Hungarian [41] had his second match point on serve, but made a casual forehand error in a 3-stroke rally.
   Seppi converted his sixth match point with a firm overhead even though he hadn’t played any for more than four hours. He celebrated the longest tie-break won by himself (15/13) on his back, at the time he was on a six-match losing streak in five-setters. At the beginning of his career he’d been caught at 13-all, but then finished on a losing end facing Rainer Schuettler in Kitzbuhel ’04. The German amazingly survived the second round 3-6, 7-6(13), 6-0 withstanding ten match points! Following the Fucsovics’s epic, Seppi made a bigger upset in the second round eliminating a seeded Hurkacz 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6… the last major match won by Seppi. He’d finish his career one year later, never advancing to the Slam quarterfinal in 67 tries which places him among the best Open Era players to never participate in the last 8 of any major (five times he lost in the fourth round, four times in Australia where one point separated him from the quarterfinals in 2015).

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   August 22, 2025 at 2:46 pm

   ☆ The longest classical 5th set tie-breaks in the US Open history:

   1987 (2R): K.Flach d. Cahill 1-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(15)
   2021 (1R): Seppi d. Fucsovics 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(13)
   1989 (1R): Masur d. Pugh 5-7, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(10)
   1998 (QF): Philippoussis d. T.Johansson 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6(10)
   2013 (1R): Dutra Silva d. Pospisil 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6(10)
   1991 (2R): Caratti d. Rostagno 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(9)
   1991 (3R): Markus d. Siemerink 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-7, 7-6(9)
   2000 (3R): M.Norman d. Mirnyi 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6(9)
   2009 (2R): Dent d. Navarro 6-4, 5-7, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6(9)

   The year 2021 marked the last one when classical tie-breaks (up to 7 points won) were required at 6-all in the 5th set at the US Open, from 2022 onwards they have been replaced by super/champions tie-breaks (up to 10 points) making the 1987 record very likely immortal. A few times a fifth set classical tie-break was required in the Grand Prix/ATP finals, never reached 9-all though. The longest one comes from the Paris-Bercy 2000 final.

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