‘I don’t want to do that again,’ said Dan Evans after his five hour, 35 minute first round win. And, thanks to his own brilliance, he didn’t have to as he reached the third round of the US Open in a far more reasonable two hours and 37 minutes.
The 34-year-old beat Argentina’s Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 and will play No. 10 seed Alex de Minaur in the third round on Saturday.
From a man who turned up in New York without a win on tour since March, what a pleasant surprise this run has been.
And how wonderful to see Evans, after playing such a rich and selfless supporting role to the Andy Murray swan song at the Olympics, creating some magic of his own. After sealing this victory, Evans made straight for a man in the crowd wearing the shirt of his beloved Aston Villa and exchanged a resounding high five.
Evans insisted throughout that barren run of 10 ATP Tour defeats in a row that he was playing some decent tennis and he has certainly done that here.
Dan Evans reached the third round of the US Open after a win over Mariano Navone Thursday
The 34-year-old dispatched of the Argentinian 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 37 minutes
Navone is on the extreme end of the clay court specialist – he had barely played away from the red dirt before this season – and Evans’ knifing backhand and subtle hand skills presented a problem he could not solve.
De Minaur will be far more comfortable against Evans’ classical style and one suspects that will be a bridge too far.
But, as he showed us when coming back from 4-0, 40-15 down against Karen Khachanov in the first round, anything is possible in this funny old game.
Even in this ultimately straightforward win against Navone, Evans showed a little of that fightback spirit. The South American led 2-0 in each of the first two sets but Evans recovered.
Given how long Evans spent on court in the opening round, Navone’s game plan will surely have been to take the match deep and give the older man’s legs a real test.
But Evans’ class meant he never got the chance and one of the more popular runs at this US Open continues.
Evans will face Australia’s Alex de Minaur (pictured) next in the third round on Saturday
He is joined in the third round by Jack Draper and the 22-year-old had some lovely words about his Davis Cup colleague.
‘I have huge respect for Dan. He’s an unbelievable competitor. Growing up with him when I was younger and playing with him, his competitiveness has always been off the charts.
‘The last couple of years he’s obviously had a tough run with a couple of injuries and a lot of tough draws. When Dan Evans is feeling good about his tennis and he’s hungry, he’s still one of the best players in the world. His tennis and his tennis IQ is extremely high.
‘I’m unbelievably happy for Dan.’ A feeling shared by much of Britain.
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