Dan Evans was “immensely proud” after climbing off the canvas to win the longest match played at the US Open, but is not keen to repeat the feat any time soon.
Evans looked dead and buried against Russian Karen Khachanov when a gruelling encounter in blistering conditions took its toll and he trailed 4-0 in the fifth-set decider.
But the 34-year-old, whose season has been disrupted by injury, poor form and prioritising the Olympics, launched the ultimate comeback, winning six games in a row to claim an amazing 6-7 (6) 7-6 (2) 7-6 (4) 4-6 6-4 victory.
It took a mammoth five hours 35 minutes, breaking a 32-year-old record at Flushing Meadows set when Stefan Edberg beat Michael Chang in five hours and 26 minutes in 1992.
“I think when you’re a kid, you’re just told to fight until the end,” he said. “That’s sort of rule one. I’ve done that pretty consistently for my career. It sort of paid off a bit today.
“I’m immensely proud that I came through the match. I think that’s the overriding feeling more than anything. I’ve had a lot of first rounds this year. It’s nice to win a match.
“Of course, it’s a special match to win in what fashion, or however you want to say. But I’m proud that I’m still able to compete.
“It’s the longest I’ve ever been on a court. In the fourth set, I had to check the set to see what set we was in. I wasn’t entirely sure what set we were in.
“But I don’t really want to do that again. That’s for sure.”
How Evans pulls up after this marathon remains to be seen but he will cherish his piece of history, which was also his first grand slam victory of 2024. He could easily have won in straight sets had he taken his opportunities, missing seven set points in an opener he eventually lost.
Evans regrouped, though, and in a topsy-turvy battle, won the next two sets, both on tiebreaks. The fourth set appeared to prove pivotal when Khachanov broke at 4-4 and sent it to a decider.
Evans was visibly flagging physically at this point and his mood worsened after being broken in the opening game as he smashed his racket on the floor.
The Russian sensed blood and looked to have moved into an unassailable position when he led 4-0 in the decider.
But, despite being out on his feet and barely able to walk in between points, Evans somehow reeled off six successive games to earn the record-breaking victory.
He faces Mariano Navone in the second round and admits he will not practise on Wednesday.
“Obviously, I won’t practise,” he added. “Just recover and try and recover as best as possible. I was hurting all over really.
“I don’t think I’ve played five hours, that long, in a day ever in two sessions, never mind in one day. I was actually thinking that on the court. I’ve never practised [for] two hours. It’s normally an hour and a half.”
