Johanna Konta Defeats Garbine Muguruza in Longest Match in US Open History

The score may not seem too out of the ordinary for tennis, but Johanna Konta's upset victory over ninth seed Garbine Muguruza at the U.S. Open on Thursday marked the longest match in women's tournament history.

Konta won a first-set tiebreaker 7-4 before falling in a tiebreaker in the next set by that exact same score. She conserved her best for last to dominate the decider 6-2 in a second-round match that ran three hours, 23 minutes.

It simply wasn't Muguruza's day at Flushing Meadows. Her serve betrayed her to the tune of 13 double faults, and she hit 59 unforced errors to 45 winners. Another key to the match to give Konta the edge was second-serve points, which she claimed at a 52 percent clip compared to Muguruza's 35.

The Sunday Times' Barry Flatman applauded how Konta hung tough amid sweltering conditions on the hard courts in the Big Apple:

The Press Association's Tom Allnut logged some of Konta's comments after her landmark triumph.

"She probably didn't play her best today, but she's an incredible fighter and no matter what level she brings to the court, she always brings her top 10 mentality. I had to fight for every point and I'm just really happy to come back another day," said Konta regarding Muguruza.

No. 18 seed Andrea Petkovic is next up for Konta, who has to be fatigued after a hard-fought win. However, she can take solace in the fact that she just beat a foe who's ranked higher than her impending opponent.

BBC Tennis highlighted how exceptional Konta has been of late:

Konta is continuing a strong run that's seen her claim two ITF singles titles. She has evidently carried over some confidence and momentum from those outings to the Grand Slam stage.

The draw at the U.S. Open has seen quite a shakeup in the early going on the women's side. Third seed Maria Sharapova withdrew, and Muguruza's loss means the sixth through 10 seeds have all been bounced within the first two rounds at the year's major finale.

Such developments would figure to open things up for underdogs, but that isn't really the case in women's tennis at the moment. Three-time reigning U.S. Open champion Serena Williams is going for the calendar-year Grand Slam. The early run of upsets has helped her bid at history if anything.

Note: Match stats courtesy of USOpen.org.