Samantha Stosur says she may not even find time to practise for her US Open quarter-final with titleholder Kim Clijsters after her dramatic triumph over Elena Dementieva in the Grand Slam event that never sleeps.
Stosur survived four match points and some controversial scheduling to outlast the Russian 12th seed 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2) in the latest-finishing women's singles match ever at the Open.
The two combatants only started the gripping fourth-round encounter at 10.57pm local time and finished at 1.37am (3.37pm Canberra time yesterday) after tournament officials thrust women into the second feature night match at the Open two evenings running for the first time.
The New York major is notorious for rowdy crowds and midnight finishes, but tennis legend Martina Navratilova said it was unfair that Stosur and Dementieva should have to follow a men's best-of-five-set clash onto Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Making matters worse was the preceding match involved marathon man John Isner, who featured against Nicolas Mahut in the record-setting 11-hour, five-minute saga at Wimbledon in June.
Fortunately, Russian Mikhail Youzhny required ''only'' three-and-a-quarter hours to put Isner away.
Still, Navratilova and Stosur questioned the scheduling.
''Nobody trains to go to play at midnight. No player can be ready for that,'' Navratilova said on American TV.
While Australia's French Open runner-up was not expected to get to bed before 4am, Clijsters was undoubtedly tucked under the doona getting plenty of sleep after completing her 6-2, 6-1 fourth-round romp over Ana Ivanovic just after midday on Sunday in New York.
And with American drawcard Venus Williams tipped to be afforded the prime-time evening slot for her quarter-final tomorrow, Stosur is likely to be required back at Flushing Meadows less than 36 hours before taking on Clijsters.
The laidback Stosur said she understood scheduling, but didn't necessarily agree with it.
''It's a lot easier for women to finish,'' the Queenslander said.
''We played a really long match. I think it was still only two-and-a half hours. With the guys, that could be four or five hours.
''When we're starting at quarter to 12, where they're starting at quarter to 10, that's probably a little bit easier.
''That's unfortunately the way it is. Someone is going to come off second best getting that short straw with the second night match. It was a great atmosphere out there. You can't fault that either, so I guess there's good and bad things to it.''
The bad being that the world No6's preparation for a formidable foe riding an 18-match winning streak at Flushing Meadows has been severely compromised.
''She's got, what, a good 14 hours head start recovery on me,'' Stosur said.
''She played first, I played last [on day eight of the event]. There's not much bigger difference than that.
''But I guess you've got to do what you can do and recover as best as I can and, yeah, be back tomorrow and play again.
''It's just one of those things. I don't even know if I'll practise.
''But come in here, just relax, maybe go to the physio.''
Dementieva had the chance to serve out the match at 5-3 in the third set.
The Russian faltered, despite conjuring a match point on her own serve, and then Stosur staved off three more on her own delivery in the next game.
She is the first Australian woman to make the US Open quarter-finals since Wendy Turnbull in 1986.
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