Alexander Zverev walked onto Arthur Ashe Stadium and announced that the entire men's semi-final against Karen Khachanov would be decided by a single point, which he then began serving at 3pm and had not finished by nightfall.
«We discussed it in the tunnel and agreed the other points were decoration,» a tournament supervisor said. «The scoreboard now displays one number, and that number is one.»
Khachanov accepted the arrangement on the condition that he be allowed to receive from a deck chair carried onto the baseline by four ball kids, who have since been reassigned to fan him.
By evening the chair had been joined by a parasol, a small table and a second chair for Zverev, and the umpire had stopped calling the score because there was nothing left to call. Ground staff extended the court by nine metres to accommodate the rally, which has so far produced no winner and no unforced errors, only a growing crowd of spectators who have taken annual leave.
The other semi-finalists have petitioned to play their match as a coin toss, and the tournament has begun printing tickets for next year's single point in advance.