NEW DELHI: Australian Open fans witnessed an engaging 70-shot rally which went back and forth for 90 seconds during the second round match between the local lad Jason Kubler and Russian Karen Khachanov in Melbourne on Wednesday.
What was surprising was the way that rally ended as a Kubler backhand clipped the net cord and dropped onto the other side of the court, leaving Khachanov stranded behind the baseline.
Khachanov was serving for a two-set lead in the battle between the two baseliners on John Cain Arena when Australian Kubler managed to snare a break point.
The partisan crowd on the showcourt erupted in celebration and Kubler went on to take the set to level the contest at 1-1. Khachanov, however, eventually won 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2.
The players would have had to go on a fair bit longer to break the record for a rally in a competitive match, which the Library of Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum believes to have taken place in 1984.
Jean Hepner and Vicky Nelson shared a 29-minute rally in Richmond, Virginia in which the ball passed over the net an incredible 643 times.
Wednesday's rally was not even a record for the Australian Open nor the John Cain Arena.
Frenchmen Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils shared a 71-shot rally on the same court in the third round in 2013. Simon won the point and the match.
"I actually watched that rally (after the match). At the time I was pretty buggered. But I watched it and I was hitting it so soft. I was doing all the running and Karen was the one running me around," Kubler told reporters.
"It was awesome that I ended up winning it. I think I had a really long rally in Adelaide against (Tomas Martin) Etcheverry, but I ended up losing it. So I saw that everywhere, and I didn't really enjoy it too much.
"I was super pumped. I don't think I've ever had a rally that long before. You know, I'm definitely going to be sharing it on my Instagram and stuff like that."
(With inputs from Reuters)
