Emma Navarro tops fellow American Peyton Stearns at Australian Open - ESPN

MELBOURNE, Australia — No. 8 Emma Navarro needed to play the longest WTA-level match of her career — 3 hours and 20 minutes — and rallied from 5-3 down in the third set to beat fellow American Peyton Stearns 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

A semifinalist at the US Open last year, Navarro was seeded in the top eight at a major for the first time and was completing a set of appearances on the center courts at the Grand Slams with her first appearance on Rod Laver Arena.

So, how did she feel after being pushed all the way by the big-hitting Steans?

«Great,» she said, telling the crowd the duration of the match felt like a time warp. «Crazy match today.

»I just kept telling myself to make the most of what I had today. Maybe it wasn't my best, but she put up a really good fight. Really happy to just get the win."

Their match was the first All-American women's major match to go past 5-all in all three sets since the 2005 French Open (Amy Frazier defeated Meghann Shaughnessy in the first round 7-5, 5-7, 7-5).

It's the longest women's match of the tournament thus far.

For Emma Raducanu, winning in the first round at the Australian Open was always going to be more important than how she achieved the result.

That was clear Tuesday when the 2021 US Open champion celebrated her 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) win over No. 26-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova out on Court 3, where a scattering of British flags fluttered in a light breeze on Day 3 at Melbourne Park.

In her first match since November, the 22-year-old British player had 15 double-faults, made 30 unforced errors and won just 30% of points on her second serve. But she was good enough in the big moments, with 22 winners and nine aces, to claw her