Sports
BRITAIN’S Dan Evans backed up his first-round marathon match at the US Open with a straight-set victory over Argentina’s Mariano Navone.
Evans played the longest match in US Open history on Tuesday when he defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov in five hours and 35 minutes.
The 34-year-old followed that up 48 hours later with a more convincing 6-4 6-3 6-3 win against Navone, the world number 36, to reach the third round.
Earlier on Thursday, British women’s number one Katie Boulter suffered a “horrendous” defeat by Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, while Jack Draper claimed a comfortable victory over Argentina’s Facundo Diaz Acosta.
Boulter, the 31st seed, started strongly in the opening set, but ultimately fell to a 7-5 7-5 loss against Spain’s Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 74th.
British men’s number one Draper, meanwhile, moved seamlessly into the third round with a 6-4 6-2 6-2 success.
He will face Botic van de Zandschulp, who stunned third seed and title contender Carlos Alcaraz.
Evans says he felt “extra pressure” to reach the third round after making it through Tuesday’s epic endurance test against 23rd seed Khachanov.
“It was a strange 48 hours. Everyone was congratulating me which was a almost a bit embarrassing,” Evans told Sky Sports.
“I felt a bit more extra pressure to win, I didn’t want to win that match and lose in the next round – it wouldn’t feel right.”
Prior to his victory over Navone, Evans had failed to win two successive matches on the ATP Tour this year.
The world number 184 found himself 0-3 down in the first set before recovering, winning six of the next seven games to take control of the match.
He overturned an early break in the second set before breaking twice more, while he held off a late surge by Navone in the third.
Evans celebrated with fans as his opponent fired a forehand long on the second match point after two hours 37 minutes.
“It’s been different, but it was important to win today,” he said. “The record and stuff is obviously great but I’m here to win.”
He will play Australian 10th seed Alex de Minaur, who defeated Finland’s Otto Virtanen 7-5 6-1 7-6 (7-3), in the third round.
Boulter suffers ‘horrendous’ defeat
Boulter was heard saying “everything was horrendous” to her team at the side of the court as she found herself trailing Bouzas Maneiro.
“A really tricky match for me. Today I was a little too passive and I didn’t quite play the way I wanted to play,” Boulter told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“These players are always going to have a go at you, you’re the higher-ranked person, they’re going to play better than their ranking.
“I have to be ready for that, and I have to be able to play my game better.”
The 28-year-old has leapt up the rankings after a strong 18 months, but she has yet to reach the second week of a Grand Slam.
Coming into the US Open, Boulter admitted she was not as prepared as she might have been for the hard courts, completing just three matches on the surface after playing at the Olympics on the Paris clay.
Meanwhile, Bouzas Maneiro was ranked outside the world’s top 150 at the start of the year and had played just one Grand Slam main draw match.
The 21-year-old has hit an impressive run of form, beating defending champion Marketa Vondrousova on the way to reaching the third round of Wimbledon before retiring injured against eventual winner Barbora Krejcikova.
She will play sixth seed Jessica Pegula in the third round after she beat fellow American and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.
Draper’s side of draw opens up after Alcaraz exit
Draper has long been seen as the British successor to Murray at the top end of the men’s game.
Having won his first ATP title at Stuttgart in June, the left-hander is aiming to go even further on the sport’s biggest stages as the post-Murray era begins at the US Open.
Draper, who reached the fourth round last year in a career-best performance, broke Diaz Acosta in the third game of the match and saw out the first set from there, fending off three break points.
The 22-year-old’s confidence grew and he cruised through the next two sets, offering up just one more break-point opportunity that Diaz Acosta failed to capitalise on.
Speaking after his win and before Alcaraz’s shock exit, Draper said he was “looking forward” to a potential battle with the Spaniard, who he defeated at Queen’s Club in June.
However, Alcaraz’s defeat means Draper’s side of the draw has opened up favourably for the young Briton.
If he can move past Van de Zandschulp, the 25th seed will battle for a quarter-final spot against Belgium’s David Goffin or Czech Tomas Machac, who are ranked 78th and 39th respectively.
– BBCSport
A.I’
Aug. 30, 2024
Tags: Jack Draper Mariano Navone
