Australian Open 2019: Johanna Konta falls to defeat in late-night clash with Garbine Muguruza

The 27-year-old was beaten 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 in Melbourne in one of the latest finishes in the tournament's history

The British No 1 left the court in tears after her defeat (Getty)

There were only a few hundred spectators left in the stadium after the latest start to a match in Grand Slam history as Johanna Konta went out of the Australian Open here in the early hours of Friday morning despite one of her best performances of recent times.

Konta and Garbine Muguruza started their second-round match in Margaret Court Arena at 12.30am and it was at 3.12am that the winning shot was struck. Muguruza won 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 after the best women’s match of the tournament so far as the two players fought out a memorable contest full of superb ball-striking.

If the defeat was desperately disappointing for Konta, who was in tears as she left the court, the 27-year-old Briton should take heart from the fact that this was a return to the sort of form that took her to No 4 in the world and made her a serious contender for major honours.

Considering the absurdly late hour it was a fine effort by both players. “It wasn’t ideal for anyone,” Konta said afterwards. “I don’t think it’s ideal for anyone to do any physical activity when it’s bedtime, but it is what it is and both of us were in the same boat.”

The 12.30am start beat the previous record for a match here, which was set last year when Daria Gavrilova and Elise Mertens began at 11.59pm. However, the 3.12am finish did not come close to beating the record here, which was set in 2008, when Lleyton Hewitt completed a five-set victory over Marcos Baghdatis at 4.33am. It left the Australian so shattered that he was beaten easily – by Novak Djokovic – in the following round.

Muguruza will be hoping she does not suffer the same fate when she faces Timea Bacsinszky on Saturday. Asked after her victory what she would do in the build-up to her next match, Muguruza joked: “I’ll go for breakfast now.” She added: “I’ll recover as much as I can because it was a tough match. Tomorrow is a day off, but I have to be concentrated.”

The late start was down to a succession of long matches in Margaret Court Arena. Both of the men’s matches on the schedule – Kei Nishikori against Ivo Karlovic and Alexander Zverev against Jeremy Chardy – went to five sets.

When Zverev won the first two sets in the day’s penultimate match Konta and Muguruza were probably hoping to get on court by 10.30pm, but Chardy’s comeback kept them waiting. At one stage there was talk of moving the match to Court 3, but that did not prove possible, bizarrely enough, because the playing surface was dirty as a result of the number of seagulls who had been on it.

“Once Zverev and Chardy’s match went to a fifth set, we were actually going to go out to Court 3 to start but there was basically seagull poo everywhere and they had to clean the court,” Konta said. “By the time they would have cleaned the court, it would have taken 10 to 15 minutes and we were in the same boat anywhere.”

Konta, nevertheless, has previous experience of late-night tennis. Two years ago she lost a match to Laura Siegemund in Madrid which finished at 2.17am.

This was the fourth meeting between Muguruza and Konta. Muguruza won in Luxembourg in 2012, while Konta won both their encounters in 2015, at Eastbourne and at the US Open. At three hours and 23 minutes their New York meeting was the longest women’s match at the tournament for 45 years.

The two women have similar styles, based on powerful hitting from the baseline. Both strike the ball beautifully from either side and both are fine athletes. Muguruza might have more dimensions to her game, as she showed in winning the French Open and Wimbledon titles, but Konta has the more potent serve.

Konta in particular struck the ball with the power and consistency that were her trademarks when she reached the semi-finals here in 2016 and matched that performance at Wimbledon the following year.

Konta reaches to return a shot from her Spanish opponent (Getty)

The Briton started in majestic style, winning a well-constructed opening point with a thumping drive-volley winner, but then lost eight points in a row as Muguruza broke in the first game and then held to take a 2-0 lead.

At the start Konta had trouble returning Muguruza’s first serves – the Briton put only one of the Spaniard’s first 10 into court – and failed to take her only break point of the opening set in the sixth game. At 3-5 Konta saved a set point when Muguruza missed a backhand and in the following game the Spaniard served out for the set.

By now both women were hitting the ball cleanly and the dwindling number of spectators were treated to some thrilling rallies. Konta had the first break-point opportunity of the second set, in the third game, but hit a forehand just wide. At 4-4 it was Konta’s turn to save two break points, the second of them with a brilliant half-volley cross-court pass winner from the baseline.

The tie-break was interrupted momentarily by a few drops of rain, but Konta was not to be denied. At 5-3 she went to set point with an ace and then levelled the match with a crunching forehand return which hit the baseline.

The final set was tight throughout as both women continued striking the ball beautifully. However, when Konta hit a second serve at 5-6 and 30-30, Muguruza struck a thumping backhand return winner. On the next point she clinched victory after two hours and 42 minutes with another big backhand into the corner.

Konta and Muguruza played their way into the history books (Getty)

“I can’t believe that there are still people watching us,” Muguruza said afterwards. “It was very tough. Johanna was also playing very well, serving incredibly and hitting some big shots. I just tried to fight and hang in there.”

It might be of little consolation to Konta but she hit more winners than Muguruza (46 to 41), which is a rarity when the Spaniard wins a match.

Konta said: “I think it was a high level in general. I think both of us played really well. I think she started better than I did, but then I think I did a good job of raising my level to make it a competitive match. I think there were only a few points in it at the end.

“I think I played a great match and a lot to do with that is the chemistry between the two players and the way our two game styles match up. Every single match between Garbine and I has been three sets, so we obviously do feed off each other’s game quite well to play at a high level. I think that came through tonight.”

Asked if she would take encouragement from her performance, Konta said: “I’d like to think so. I look to take every opportunity to learn from every single match. I would have liked to have won and learned, but it didn’t go my way. I’ll be looking to move forwards as I usually do.”