TENNIS | US OPEN
New longest ever tennis match makes US Open history
It took a British player beating a Russian in five sets to exceed the previous record set over three decades before.
Daniel Evans raised his arms with the little strength he had left to celebrate his victory on Tuesday, winning 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 against Karen Khachanov in what is now the longest match in US Open history: 5 hours and 35 minutes. The previous record was held by the 1992 semifinal between Sweden’s Stefan Edberg and the United States’ Michael Chang, which ended with a score of 6-7 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-4 in 5 hours and 26 minutes.
US Open history made by Evans and Khachanov
After three consecutive tiebreaks, Khachanov won the fourth set and had the fifth set seemingly well under control, leading 4-0 with four chances to extend the lead to 5-0 while returning. The record might have been out of reach if the match had continued along that trajectory, but Evans mounted an impressive comeback, winning six consecutive games to secure the set 6-4, thereby helping to set the new record.
Who next for Evans at US Open?
The Englishman, who had been struggling this year with a 5-17 record and had only defeated one top-100 player all season (Lorenzo Sonego in Miami), will face Argentine Mariano Navone in the second round, thankfully with a day of rest in between. Navone earned his spot by defeating Germany’s Daniel Altmaier with a score of 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, and 6-1.