Sofia Kenin beat 46-year-old Venus Williams 6-2 7-6(6) in a US Open first-round match that began at 12.13am on Monday, the latest start in women's tournament history.
Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, will next face top-ranked American Jessica Pegula. The match at Arthur Ashe Stadium started after Novak Djokovic's five-set defeat by Mariano Navone, with many fans staying on to watch Williams, who was playing as a wild card in her 96th career Grand Slam main draw appearance.
Williams said afterwards: "It's not ideal. I would have preferred something else definitely. It wasn't great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best. I just don't know any other sport where you have to start that late. I definitely think there's room for improvement there."
Kenin broke serve early and never trailed in the first set. In the second set, Williams saved several set points but could not convert any of her seven set points in the tiebreak, as Kenin closed out the win.