Dan Evans admits pain after playing longest US Open match in second-round win

British tennis star Dan Evans has suggested he is still a little “pissed off” after the longest match in US Open history. The 34-year-old defeated Russian Karen Khachanov 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year. The match lasted five hours and 35 minutes.

In the second round, Evans then beat Argentina’s Mariano Navone in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Speaking after the match, the Birmingham-born star explained that he still felt “sore” after playing for almost six hours on the first day of the mega event. But he also stressed that this feeling helped him to overcome the challenge in the second round, where he felt “extra pressure” to win after his heroics against Khachanov.

“It’s been a weird 24, 48 hours,” Evans said. “I don’t know why, but I felt another extra pressure to win. I didn’t want to win this game and then lose in the round. That wouldn’t feel right. Everyone was congratulating me. It was almost a little embarrassing. I didn’t want to say, ‘No, I have one more game,’ but it all meant that I was a little banged up and that really got to me. Today I slept a little bit. I’m just really tired since the game the other day. I’ve been in the ice bath quite a lot and moving around a lot.

Evans will now face Australian Alex de Minaur in the third round of the tournament on Saturday. The 25-year-old defeated Otto Virtanenin in straight sets 7:5, 6:1, 7:6 in the round of 64.