Daniel Evans beats Karen Khachanov in longest match in US Open history | ATP Tour

US Open

Evans beats Khachanov in longest match in US Open history

The match lasts for five hours and 35 minutes.

August 27, 2024

Daniel Evans defeated Karen Khachanov in the longest match in U.S. Open history on Tuesday in New York. The Briton rallied from 4-0 down in the deciding set to dispatch the 23rd seed 6-7(6), 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4 in five hours and 35 minutes.

The previous record was held by Stefan Edberg and Michael Chang, whose 1992 semi-final match lasted five hours and 26 minutes. Edberg won the match 6-7(3), 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-4.

“It was a long game. It was a very long battle. I thought I played very well for most of the game. Obviously I was struggling physically, but so was he. It was about who could last longer at the end,” Evans said.

For a brief moment, it looked like the match would not make history. Khachanov led 4-0 in the fifth set and had four break points against Evans, but he could not convert them.

“I just kept playing really well. Yeah, I just tried to fight it out little by little. Every point I had a weak leg. I was good on the serve when I returned, so that gave me some hope,” Evans said. “I think when you’re a kid, you’re just told to fight until the end. I mean, that’s rule number one. I’ve done that consistently throughout my career. It paid off today.”

The crowd on Court 6, which had been raucous throughout the match, urged Evans back into the match, cheering in delight when he finished with a final forehand that Khachanov missed into the net. There was hardly room to stand with so many fans around the court when the historic match ended.

All five sets took over an hour. Set three was the longest, lasting 72 minutes.

Khachanov hit 79 winners to Evans’ 53, but it wasn’t enough. The winner converted eight of 18 break points to Khachanov’s eight of 23. Evans won 201 points to Khachanov’s 191, and now leads the ATP Head-to-Head series between them 5-0.

Coming into the tournament, Evans had a tour-level record of 4-17 this season and had not beaten a top-100 ATP player since March in Miami, where he beat then-world No. 53 Lorenzo Sonego.

“I’m very proud of my success in this match. I think that’s the feeling more than anything else,” Evans said. “I’ve had a lot of first rounds this year. It’s great to win a match. Obviously it was a long match. But the feeling is to still be able to win at this level. You always have doubts when you don’t win. That’s normal in any area of ​​life. If you’re not good, you have doubts. It’s no different in tennis.”

The 34-year-old partnered Andy Murray in the men’s doubles at the Paris Olympics, Murray’s last match of the season. The pair reached the third round before losing to Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.

Longest matches in US Open history