The lengthy match that Evans played against Karen Khachanov of Russia, which the British player ultimately won, was the one that broke a record at Flushing Meadows that had been in place for 32 years.
Dan Evans, a tennis player from the United Kingdom, broke the record for the longest game ever played during the United States Open.
At the first round of the tournament at Flushing Meadows in New York, the 34-year-old, who had previously teamed Andy Murray during Scotland’s swansong at the Olympic Games in Paris, competed against Karen Khachanov of Russia.
The match lasted for a staggering five hours and thirty-five minutes, during which time the two competitors were forced to endure a demanding encounter in temperatures that were extremely hot.
This broke the previous record for the United States Open, which had stood for 32 years. In 1992, Stefan Edberg defeated Michael Chang in five hours and 26 minutes.
Evans was forced to check the score during the fourth set because he had lost count of which set they were in during the marathon match, which lasted for such a long time.
“I don’t really want to do that again, that’s for sure,” Evans said after the match. “It makes me feel uncomfortable.”
It was feasible to journey from west London to Scotland while the match was occurring.
After failing to take advantage of early opportunities, Evans seemed destined for failure when he found himself behind 4-0 in the fifth-set decider shortly afterwards.
Nevertheless, Evans won six games in a row in the final set to secure a victory with a score of 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4. This triumph was a continuation of his remarkable comeback from the Olympic Games.
Following the conclusion of the game, Evans made the following statement: “I believe that when you are a kid, you are just told to fight until the end.”
“In a sense, that is the first rule. For the whole of my career, I have done that fairly consistently.
“Today, it did pay off a little bit,” she said.
I have a great deal of pride in the fact that I got through the match. It is my opinion that this is the predominant feeling more than anything else.
Evans went on to say, “This year has been filled with a lot of first rounds.” When you win a match, it’s a good feeling.
However, despite the fact that Jack Draper and Katie Boulter were victorious, Emma Raducanu, who was overcome with emotion, stated that she would have to “go back to the drawing board” after being defeated by Sofia Kenin in the first round.