NEW YORK — A few hours into a match that eventually set a US Open record for length, Daniel Evans glanced over 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 entirely sure what set we were in.”
More than an hour later, Evans won the longest match at the US Open since tiebreakers 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, 35 minutes.
Evans trailed 4-0 in the fifth set before running off the final six games. The final point, fittingly, was a marathon 22-shot rally, with Evans on the defensive for much of the point before hitting a hard shot to the corner that the No. 23-seeded Khachanov couldn’t get back over the net with his backhand.
The previous record was 5 hours, 26 minutes, when Stefan Edberg beat Michael Chang in a five-setter in the 1992 semifinals.
“I was hurting all over, really,” said the 34-year-old Evans, who was grabbing at his lower legs and resting his hands on his knees in the final set.
Evans has battled injuries in a difficult 2024. He arrived at Flushing Meadows just 4-17 this season, and said the fight he showed Tuesday should help restore some confidence that he had lost.
“I’m immensely proud that I came through the match,” Evans said. “I think that’s the overriding feeling more than anything. I’ve had a lot of first round (exits) this year. It’s nice to win a match.”
Evans improved to 5-0 against Khachanov, a semifinalist at the 2022 US Open, by emerging in a match in which the sets lasted 68, 67, 72, 67 and 61 minutes.
The British player who played doubles with Andy Murray at the Olympics in the three-time Grand Slam champion’s final tournament finished with a 201-191 edge in total points. He advanced to play Mariano Navone of Argentina in the second round.
“I don’t think I’ve played five hours, that long, in a day, ever — in two sessions, never mind in one,” said Evans, who noted he would not be practicing Wednesday. “I was actually thinking that on the court. I’ve never practiced two hours, two hours. It’s normally an hour and a half.”
Court 6 rarely draws much of a crowd at the sprawling Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, but droves of fans had assembled by the time the match crossed the five-hour mark, overwhelming the stands despite the sweltering conditions.
According to ESPN BET, Khachanov went as short as -50000 to win when up 4-0 in the fifth set, and Evans was available to bet at +4000 during that time.
“I was trying to just play, stay out there as long as possible at 4-love, and just see where I could get myself,” Evans said. “But, yeah, I don’t really want to do that again. That’s for sure.”
ESPN’s D’Arcy Maine, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.