Karen Khachanov and Jason Kubler shared a rally of 70 shots in their second round match at the Australian Open on Wednesday but the end, when it came, was something of an anti-climax.
Russian Khachanov was serving for two-set lead in the battle between the two baseliners on John Cain Arena when Australian Kubler managed to snare a break point.
The pair slapped the ball back and forth for 90 seconds before a Kubler backhand clipped the net cord and dropped onto the other side of the court, leaving Khachanov stranded behind the baseline.
OUTRAGEOUS 🤯
Jason Kubler has just won a 70-shot rally to break, absolute scenes on JCA! 😍#GoAussies • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/dkZCshl1qh
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) January 18, 2023
The partisan crowd on the showcourt erupted in celebration and Kubler went on to win the set 7-5 to level up the contest at 1-1.
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, Virgina in which the ball passed over the net an incredible 643 times.
The rally was not even a record for the Australian Open nor 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.