NEW YORK (AP) ``The Battle of 1715?''
In what the WTA called the longest tiebreaker between women at a Grand Slam tournament, Maria Kirilenko outlasted Samantha Stosur 17-15 in the second set of their fourth-round match at the U.S. Open on Sunday night.
It fell two points short of the so-called ``Battle of 1816,'' John McEnroe's memorable 18-16 fourth-set tiebreaker victory against Bjorn Borg in the 1980 Wimbledon final - a match eventually won by Borg.
When Stosur put a forehand in the net, allowing Kirilenko to force a third set, McEnroe, who was on hand to call their match for TV, said, ``There, in a nutshell, is why this is such a great sport.''
That was Kirilenko's sixth set point. Stosur wasted five match points.