The China Mail - Late-night Paul battles through at US Open in 1:46 am finish

The 14th-seeded American finally made it count after 4hr 25mins to pull through 7-6 (8/6), 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 7-5 in New York.

Late-night finishes in tennis have been a recurring theme, especially at the Australian Open and the US Open, where Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner completed their 2022 quarter-final at 2:50 am.

Paul could have had a comparatively early night with two match points in the third set, but he failed to take them and a newly energised Borges threatened to make him pay.

"It was pretty tough today, especially when you are up two sets to love," Paul said. "You never want to lose a match like that."

With the time in the "city that never sleeps" ticking past 1:00 am and the Arthur Ashe Stadium mostly empty, the gruelling encounter went to a deciding fifth set.

There was again nothing between them, with Portugal's Borges -- who is ranked 41 in the world -- refusing to go away as he fought back from 3-0 down in the fifth.

Paul finally sealed the deal at 1:46 am with a thrilling rally on his third match point, the exhausted pair exchanging a warm embrace at the net after an attritional battle.

"A little bit tired now, I'm sure we all are," Paul told the spectators that remained until the end.

"First I want to say thank you to you guys for staying so late and supporting me."

The 28-year-old added: "Definitely cool to get a win."

He will play the 23rd-seeded Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan next.

I.Taylor--ThChM--ThChM