Cako edges Gordon in Tennis Classic of Macon marathon

At 11:10 on Thursday morning, Jacqueline Cako and Michaela Gordon stepped on the court at the Tennis Classic of Macon, a spot in the round of 16 in the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament on the line.

Four hours and 19 minutes later, the action finally ended at Mercer's LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center, as Cako hit the winner over the net for a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) victory.

The two Americans went back and forth for three sets, with neither really gaining much of an advantage.

"There were so many momentum shifts," said Mercer tennis head coach Eric Hayes, the tournament director. "It was like a roller coaster our there.

"Those are two gladiators. To be running one-on-one on that court for that long and to keep the level of play that high is rare."

Gordon took early control, scoring 49 of the 91 points played in the first set. Cako tied things in the second set despite scoring fewer total points in the set.

The third set provided tons of action during the course of the hour-and-45-minute marathon. Cako went down 4-3 in the set and looked to be in trouble had Gordon been able to break serve, but she held serve and forced the tiebreaker.

A moment in the third set saw emotions run high, as Cako became upset about an official moving during the middle of a rally.

"A ball got away from an official and he picked it up and moved it while play was going on, and you're not suppose to do that," Hayes said.

The long match did Cako no favors later in the day Thursday. She lost 6-2, 6-1 to Sweden's Rebecca Peterson, the No. 5 seed, as the tournament schedule was compressed to make up for rain earlier in the week.

Earlier, Peterson watched Cako's win over Gordon.

"It is going to be tough playing against her," Peterson said Thursday afternoon. "She is playing tricky by coming to the net and slicing a lot, so it is definitely going to be tough."

In other round of 16 action, No. 2 seed Naomi Broady of Great Britain lost 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4 to Lesley Kerkhove of the Netherlands. Top-seeded Anna Tatishvili of the United States beat fellow American Nicole Frenkel 6-2, 6-3, and fourth-seeded American Nicole Gibbs beat Argentina's Florencia Molinero 6-4, 6-3. Also advancing to the quarterfinals were sixth-seeded Israeli Julia Glushko, unseeded Americans Jennifer Brady and Julia Boserup, and eighth-seeded Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey.

Friday's play begins at 10 a.m., with Tatishvili taking on Glushko and Buyukakcay going up against Kerkhove. The other quarterfinal matches, Peterson vs. Brady and Gibbs vs. Boserup, will follow.

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 10:29 PM with the headline "Cako edges Gordon in Tennis Classic of Macon marathon ."