Great Britain’s marathon man Dan Evans ran out of steam in a third-round defeat by Alex de Minaur at the US Open, but Jack Draper reached the last 16 with victory over Botic van de Zandschulp.
Draper’s side of the draw in New York had been blown open by Carlos Alcaraz’s defeat by Dutchman Van de Zandschulp in the previous round and the British number one made the most of the initial opportunity with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win.
But there was disappointment for Evans as his first-round win against Karen Khachanov in the longest match in US Open history finally took its toll.
Having fought hard to level the match at one-set all, the 37-year-old’s energy rapidly faded and he needed a medical timeout as De Minaur won 12 games in a row for a 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-0 6-0 victory.
“I’m not one to retire unless I can’t walk. I want to give Alex the win – I think he deserves to take the win,” Evans told BBC afterwards.
Australia’s 10th seed De Minaur said he appreciated his opponent battling through the pain until the very end.
“The first thing we should show is a lot of respect to Dan, he’s the ultimate competitor,” De Minaur said in his on-court interview.
“He could have easily pulled out, the body was obviously not feeling well but he stayed out there and tried his best. I really appreciate it.”
De Minaur will face fellow Australian Jordan Thompson in the fourth round.
The winner of that match could face 25th seed Draper in the quarter-finals, with the Briton needing to beat Czech Tomas Machac if he is to reach the last eight of a major for the first time
