It might have been well past her bedtime, but tournament top seed Sabine Lisicki hit the hay knowing she has a day off today and a spot in tomorrow's second round.
The world's 15th-ranked player wasn't totally convincing in her 6-4, 6-4 win over Virginie Razzano, but never looked like losing. "It's always tough to play the first match of the year," she said. "I twice lost a little bit of concentration."
This is the first year Sky has covered the ASB Classic and the impact has been immediate with marquee singles matches now featuring at night.
With a number of drawn-out encounters, Lisicki's match did not start until 8.50pm and didn't finish until 10.15pm. In the night's last match, which finished about midnight, Mona Barthel defeated Jelena Dokic 7-6, 6-1.
The players might have learned to accept late matches, but New Zealand crowds are less enamoured of the idea, with only the hardiest souls remaining by the close.
New Zealander Marina Erakovic and her Canadian partner Rebecca Marino were beaten in the doubles 6-4, 7-5 by second seeds Elena Vesnina and Sania Mirza. Erakovic's thoughts now turn to her match tonight with Angelique Kerber.
The German, at world No 32, is ranked 29 spots higher than the Croatian-born New Zealander. They have not played since juniors, where Kerber beat her twice in 2004.
"She's a powerful hitter," Erakovic said. "She's got a great backhand and lefties are always tricky ... you don't make the semifinals of the US Open unless you're a good player."