WHAT HAPPENED: Saturday’s matinee between the defending US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and Daniel Evans had fans completely rapt from the moment Alcaraz entered Arthur Ashe Stadium. Ultimately, Alcaraz dispatched the mobile 33-year-old Brit whose net game and one-handed backhand pressured the 20-year-old, even if the 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 score didn’t clearly show it.
Alcaraz raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set but Evans made him work hard to break his serve. Evans saved six (of eight) break points, but Alcaraz’s net game was superior. The 20-year-old won 15 of 16 net points in that 47-minute set alone. Even so, it took Alcaraz five set points to close the first chapter.
In the second set, Alcaraz broke Evans three times, yet it still took three set points for Alcaraz to yank Evans out of position and tip in a light volley to seal the 49-minute set on a bluebird day.
In the third set, both players held serve until the seventh game. On Alcaraz’s serve, Evans’ first break point featured a between-the-leg get, near-splits skids, acute angles and smashes destined for a best-point-of-the-tournament reel, but Alcaraz won the rally to make it 30-40. Evans slammed his racquet, releasing a bit of intensity. Evans then seized the next point with a backhand winner to lead the set for the first time, 4-3. Later, leading 5-4, Evans lost two set points on his serve, and a third, then a fourth as shade set in on all but a thin slice of the court. Evans finally won the fifth set point when Alcaraz hit a service return off the rim of his racquet. It marked the first set Alcaraz had lost in this year’s tournament.
In the fourth set, Alcaraz pulled ahead, 4-2, by breaking Evans and punctuating a 12-shot rally with a forehand on the run that landed inside the baseline by millimeters. The crowd roared louder than the airplanes overhead. Leading 5-3, Alcaraz opened his service game with a pair of aces (his fifth and sixth of the match). He made it 40-love with a lob over Evans and won the match with a crosscourt forehand, his most dangerous weapon in a dangerous game.
Alcaraz said Evans was a “tricky opponent. We made great points, great shots, a lot of different situations, but really-really happy to get through to the fourth round. Great points [that] made us smile, Daniel as well. It’s great to see that on a tennis court.”
WHY IT MATTERS: Next, Alcaraz will meet No. 16 seed Matteo Arnaldi in the fourth round. Alcaraz has never played the 22-year-old Italian.
Alcaraz has now reached the fourth round at the US Open for the third consecutive year–in three attempts–while Evans will leave his seventh US Open unable to improve upon his 2021 finish when he reached the fourth round but lost to the eventual champion, Daniil Medvedev.
“Of course, I watch the draw,” Alcaraz said, “but I take it day by day. [No man] has defended the title here since Roger Federer [from 2004-2008]. This is my main goal right now and I’m looking for that.”
MATCH POINT: Even before Saturday’s match Alcaraz knew Evans would be a frustrating third-round opponent. Two days ago, he said the Brit was a “really tough player. Good serve and volley, good net game. I will have to return very, very well if I want to win that match” but the Spaniard conceded, “of course, his golf is much better than mine, for sure.” The two men played a few holes before Wimbledon. “We had such a great time,” Alcaraz said.
