New York (AFP) – Daniel Evans rallied from 0-4 down in the final set to beat Karen Khachanov in the longest match in US Open history on Tuesday, a five-hour, 35-minute epic on court six. In front of a lively crowd, Britain’s Evans beat the 23rd seed from Russia 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4.
“It was a long, long battle,” Evans said. “I thought I played pretty well for the majority of the match. Obviously I was struggling physically, but so was he. It was sort of who could last the longest in the end.”
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The previous longest US Open match was Stefan Edberg’s victory over Michael Chang in the 1992 semi-finals, which lasted five hours and 26 minutes with Edberg winning 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-4.
The contest didn’t look headed for a record when Khachanov grabbed a 4-0 lead in the final set. He then had four break points on Evans’s serve but couldn’t convert. He rallied, urged on by the crowd packed into the stands and along the concrete walkways along the court in the shadow of the massive Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“(I) just tried to scrape little by little,” Evans said. “Each point I was obviously really struggling with my legs. On serve I was fine on return, so that gave me a bit of hope. When you’re a kid, you’re just told to fight until the end. I mean, that’s sort of rule one. I’ve done that pretty consistently for my career. It sort of paid off a bit today.”
Each set lasted more than an hour, the third stretching to 72 minutes. It’s not Evans’s first epic comeback of 2024. He and Andy Murray saved seven match points in two straight rounds before they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles at the Paris Olympics.
Evans, who won the 2023 ATP tournament in Washington, skipped his title defence to compete in Paris, the lost ranking points causing his ranking to plummet. “I’m immensely proud that I came through the match,” said Evans, who hasn’t made it past the second round of a tournament this year. “My ranking has dropped. I thought I could (win), but it’s easier said than done. You can always think it, but you’ve got to go out there and do it.”
Evans said he would give himself a break after the marathon, which left him “hurting all over.” “I don’t think I’ve played five hours in a day ever in two sessions, never mind in one,” he said with a laugh. “I was actually thinking that on the court. I’ve never practiced two hours. It’s normally an hour and a half.”
“We’ll see,” he said of what to expect for his second-round match against Argentina’s Mariano Navone. “I’ll obviously be in a bit of discomfort for the next few hours, 12 hours, 48 hours, whatever. I pride myself on being pretty fit, so I should hopefully be OK.”
© 2024 AFP
