Despite winning his first round at the US Open Dan Evans was more focused on the things he felt went wrong.
The 34-year-old took on Karen Kachanov on court six at Flushing Meadows looking to start his campaign with a victory.
What followed was a historic five-set match that brought everyone watching to their feet as the British player booked his spot in the next round.
Dan Evans outlasted Kachanov 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4 in five hours and 35 minutes, which is now the longest match in US Open history.
What did Dan Evans dislike about his US Open first round win?
After losing the opening set, Evans opened up a two sets to one lead on Kachanov on Tuesday night at the US Open. But the Russian sent the match into a decider and surged into a 4-0 lead in the deciding set.
That is before Evans summoned the physical and mental strength to win six successive games and claim the most unlikely victory in New York.
Post-match an exhausted Evans focused more on the negative aspects of his performance and explained how he produced such a remarkable comeback.
“I haven’t played a bunch of tennis this year. I just tried to keep fighting. At 4-0 I thought I was out,” he told Sky Sports.
“I felt a little sorry for myself then was trying to get myself going and I didn’t want to go out of another slam without much fight and with a whimper. I don’t even know how long the match was.
“I could see he was struggling a bit and I tried to just grab a game at a time. My serve was obviously really, really, really bad because of my body. I just have a bad headache now, I have to get rid of that!”
Who will Dan Evans face in the US Open next?
Evans was given a standing ovation by those in attendance after securing one of the greatest wins of his career.
After his exploits in round one, he will need to recover well as his US Open campaign will continue against Mariano Navone.
The Argentine also knows how to battle after he gave Rafael Nadal the second-longest three-set match of his career in what was a four-hour epic at the Swedish Open.
Navone defeated Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in four sets to advance and he will face Evans for the very first time.
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