British No 1 Dan Evans beats Marcos Giron to reach the third round at the US Open

British No 1 Dan Evans equals his best performance at the US Open by scrapping out a victory over America’s Marcos Giron to reach the third round

  • Dan Evans is through to the third round of the US Open for the fourth time
  • He has been low on confidence, returning from Covid and missing his girlfriend
  • Evans will now face Alex Popyrin, who he defeated at Queen’s Club this summer 


Low on confidence, on the way back from Covid and missing his girlfriend, Dan Evans was unsure whether this would be his week.

Yet now the British number one is through to the third round of the US Open for the fourth time after scrapping out a 6-4 7-6 2-6 6-3 victory over America’s Marcos Giron last night.

Evans was slightly emotional in his immediate post-match interview, having nicked the fourth set at the death following an unforeseen rash of errors from his opponent.

The British No 1 Dan Evans is through to the third round of the US Open for the fourth time

The British No 1 Dan Evans is through to the third round of the US Open for the fourth time

The inability to go deep into a Grand Slam these past two years has gnawed away at him, and along comes another chance to put that right. He will take on strapping Australian Alex Popyrin, who he defeated in the more favourable conditions of Queen’s Club’s grass courts this summer.

‘I was struggling after Covid, I had no confidence,’ Evans told Amazon Prime, after messaging his partner Aleah back in England. ‘I have done a god job to hang in and just practice each day if I say it myself, so winning meant a lot. Aleah is not here so it feels a bit different.’

As in his opening match, Evans’s energy and concentration levels were undulating, a possible legacy of having the virus not long after Wimbledon.

‘Getting Covid was pretty difficult,’ he said later. ‘ I was in a good place after Wimbledon and I got knocked for six. There are so many unknowns you don’t know, if it is ever going to come back, do you get long covid?’

Evans has been low on confidence, on the way back from Covid and missing his girlfriend

Evans has been low on confidence, on the way back from Covid and missing his girlfriend

His results have been modest in recent weeks but against world number 73 he has a good opportunity to make the second week at a Major. The only time he has done that before was at the 2017 Australian Open, not long before his year-long suspension from the tour.

It was beginning to look like hard work towards the end of the fourth and he had already requested a visit from the trainer after jarring his groin with a false step.

Evans explained that he did not want to seek medical attention before his opponent’s serve when he had just about held on for 4-3. ‘It goes without explaining that it’s a difficult one now,’ he said, referring to the row between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The trainer was never required because the American then played a horrendous game to gift him a break. Evans summoned up enough composure to serve the match out.

Evans will now face Australian Alex Popyrin, who he defeated at Queen's Club this summer

Evans will now face Australian Alex Popyrin, who he defeated at Queen’s Club this summer

The rain which interrupted the match would have been something the British player would be more familiar with, although these days he is based more in Dubai than he is in the UK.

He had been the more pro-active at the start, always trying to create an opportunity to rush his opponent and scurry into the net, where his delicate hands are such an asset.

He was good value for the first set but then retreated into his shell to fall 4-1 behind in the second. By the time they needed to go off for nearly an hour he had broken back for 4-3.

The plan of denying the American pace and bounce by using the sliced backhand was one he is well-suited to, and the tiebreak approached before there was another brief stoppage, during which they stayed on court.

Evans had lost his previous three tiebreaks, going back to Wimbledon, but he made no mistake this time in getting ahead to a 3-0 lead, which he converted to 7-3.

After that he was forced to hang in the fourth set as his opponent became increasingly aggressive. The match looked destined for a final set when, from nowhere, the American’s game subsided.

source: dailymail.co.uk