Marathon match: Longest match in US Open history lasts 5 hours and 35 minutes
NEW YORK — Hours into a match that ultimately set a U.S. Open record for longest time, Dan Evans glanced at the scoreboard.
Not to see how he was doing, but to clarify exactly how long he had been playing.
“In the fourth set, I had to check the set to see what set we were in,” Evans said. “I wasn’t quite sure what set we were in.”
More than an hour later, Evans won the longest match at the US Open since tiebreaks were introduced in 1970, beating Karen Khachanov 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 on Tuesday in 5 hours and 35 minutes.
Evans trailed 4-0 in the fifth set before winning the final six games. The final point, as it should be, It was a marathon rally of 22 shots, with Evans on the defensive for much of the point before hitting a powerful shot into the corner that Khachanov, the No. 23 seed, couldn’t send back over the net with his backhand.
The previous record was 5 hours and 26 minutes, when Stefan Edberg beat Michael Chang in five sets in the 1992 semi-finals.
“I was really sore all over,” said Evans, 34, who held his legs and put his hands on his knees in the final set.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played five hours that long in one day, in two sessions, let alone in one. That’s what I thought on the pitch. I’ve never trained two hours, two hours. Normally it’s an hour and a half.”
Evans improved to 5-0 against 2022 US Open semi-finalist Khachanov, winning a match that lasted 68, 67, 72, 67 and 61 minutes.
The British player who played doubles with Andy Murray at the Olympics The three-time Grand Slam champion finished the final tournament with a 201-191 advantage in total points. He then faced Mariano Navone of Argentina in the second round.
Evans has struggled with injuries during a tough 2024. He came into Flushing Meadows just 4-17 this season and said the fight he showed Tuesday should help him regain some confidence he’s lost.
He just wished it would happen faster.
“Yeah, I don’t really want to do that again,” he said, “that’s for sure.”
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