WHAT HAPPENED: No. 10 seed Alex de Minaur hit 56 winners and used his excellent court speed to get past unseeded Daniel Evans of Great Britain, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-0, in two hours and 48 minutes to advance to Round 4 of the 2024 US Open.
Saturday’s Round 3 evening clash in Louis Armstrong Stadium featured brilliant shotmaking and amazing net play from both players for the first two sets of the match. In the end however, Evans—perhaps feeling the effects on his 6-7(6), 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4, first-round win over No. 23 seed Karen Khachanov, the longest match in tournament history at five hours, 35 minutes—simply could not maintain his high level of play and did not win a game in the final two sets.
Evans opened the match with a service ace and held serve at love to get off to a quick start in the first set. Both players remained on serve through the first six games, but de Minaur broke in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead when Evans netted a backhand volley. After holding serve, de Minaur showed his touch at the net, hitting a crosscourt forehand volley winner on break point to clinch the set in 50 minutes.
In the second set, de Minaur and Evans raised the level of their service games and held serve through the first eight games. After exchanging service breaks in the ninth and tenth games, they each held serve to send the second set to a tiebreak. Evans dropped the first point but then went on an amazing run, reeling off six straight points to establish a commanding 6-1 lead. The Australian fought off three set points, but Evans ultimately put the set away in 68 minutes.
After dropping the second set, de Minaur rebounded and won six straight games to take the third set in 32 minutes, as Evans received treatment at courtside for a physical ailment after the second and third games. With Evans physically ailing, de Minaur quickly wrapped up the Round 3 victory in an 18-minute fourth set, breaking Evans three times and winning six straight games.
“The first thing we should show is a lot of respect to Dan. He’s an ultimate competitor,” de Minaur said. “He could have easily pulled out. The body was obviously not feeling well. He stayed out there and tried his best. We’ve had some great battles. He’s gotten the better of me on many occasions. I’m happy I was able to get one on the board.”
WHAT IT MEANS: Next up for de Minaur, who reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon earlier this year, will be a Round 4 match against fellow Aussie Jordan Thompson. He leads Thompson 4-1 in career head-to-head meetings. In their most recent match, de Minaur defeated Thompson, 6-2, 6-3, in the Miami second round in 2022.
Playing in his eighth-career US Open, de Minaur advances to Round 4 of the US Open for the second straight year and fourth time overall. His best US Open result was a quarterfinal finish in 2020.
The fourth time was the charm for the No. 10 seeded Australian. After dropping the first three head-to-head matches against Evans, dating back to their first tour-level meeting in 2019, de Minaur is now 1-3 against the 34-year-old Brit.
MATCH POINT: With his Round 3 victory this evening, de Minaur became the first Australian man in 20 years to reach the fourth round in each of the Grand Slam tournaments in the same year. The 25-year-old de Minaur joins a list of distinguished Australians which includes Tennis Hall of Famers: Lleyton Hewitt (2004), John Newcombe (1969), Roy Emerson (1969), Tony Roche (1969), Rod Laver (1969) and Fred Stolle (1969).
