Daniel Evans made history at the US Open on Tuesday, and in an unlikely way – even though he had entered the tournament without a Grand Slam victory this year and had already fallen to 184th in the world rankings at the age of 34.
But in his first match in Flushing, the experienced Briton not only defeated No. 23 Karen Khachanov.
He did this after falling behind 4-0 in the fifth and final set of the longest match in Open history since tiebreakers were introduced in 1970.
“I was really hurting all over,” Evans said after his thrilling 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 victory on Court 6, which lasted a record-breaking five hours and 35 minutes and yielded a total of 392 points. “I don’t think I’ve ever played five hours – that long – in two sessions in one day, let alone one. I actually thought that on the court. …
“I’m incredibly proud that I got through the match. I think that’s the prevailing feeling. I’ve won a lot of first rounds this year. It’s nice to win a match. … You always have doubts when you don’t win. That’s normal in every area of life. When you’re not playing well, you have doubts. It’s no different in tennis.”
The longest US Open match to date lasted five hours and 26 minutes.
That was a semifinal in 1992, in which Stefan Edberg ousted Michael Chang.
It was a grueling match for both players. At one point in the fourth set, Evans looked at the scoreboard to see what stage of the match they were at.
“I wasn’t quite sure what set we were in,” he said.
It was a challenging year for Evans. He only appeared in one of the first three majors of the season and finished the year 4-17 in singles matches. He was hampered by injuries.
Tuesday was different. He responded to adversity on Tuesday, especially in the final set when he found himself in a huge hole. He rallied and won the next six games against Khachanov, a semifinalist at the 2022 US Open. Evans fought his way to a second-round match against unseeded Argentine Mariano Navone on Thursday.
“I think as a kid, you’re just told to fight to the end,” said Evans, who reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open in 2021 and the third round last year. “I mean, that’s kind of rule number one. I’ve done that pretty consistently throughout my career. Today, it kind of paid off a little bit.”
by Russia in five sets during their first round match on the second day of the 2024
US Open on August 27, 2024. Getty Images
How much time he will have left on Thursday is uncertain. Evans will not train on Wednesday. Instead, he will use the day to rest. Then he will try to continue with renewed confidence. In his next game, he will almost certainly not have to play as long as he did on Tuesday.
“I really don’t want to do that again,” Evans joked. “That’s for sure.”
