Evans outlasts Khachanov in longest match in US Open history

NEW YORK — Dan Evans has won the longest match at the U.S. 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.

Evans improved to 5-0 against Khachanov, a semifinalist at the 2022 U.S. 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.

Jakub Mensik, of the Czech Republic, returns a shot to Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Spectators watch play between Taro Daniel, of Japan, and Tristan Schoolkate, of Australia, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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