Sawt Falasteen - Evans out-lasts Khachanov in longest ever US Open match

In front of a lively crowd, Britain's Evans beat the 23rd seed from Russia 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4.

The previous longest US Open match was Stefan Edberg's victory over Michael Chang in the 1992 semi-finals, which lasted five hours and 26 minutes with Edberg winning 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-4.

The contest didn't look headed for a record when Khachanov grabbed a 4-0 lead in the final set. He then had four break points on Evans's serve but couldn't convert.

He rallied, urged on by the crowd packed into the stands and along the concrete walkways along the court in the shadow of the massive Arthur Ashe Stadium

Each set lasted more than an hour, the third stretching to 72 minutes.

It's not Evans's first epic comeback of 2024. He and Andy Murray saved seven match points in two straight rounds before they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the men's doubles at the Paris Olympics.

Evans, who won the 2023 ATP tournament in Washington, skipped his title defence to compete in Paris, the lost ranking points causing his ranking to plummet.

G.AbuHamad--SF-PST