DAN FLUSHED WITH SUCCESS
Evans is open for business once more in New York
DAN EVANS had never lost a firstround US Open clash in five visits to Flushing Meadows – and he wasn’t about to start yesterday.
The British No.1 beat Thiago Monteiro 6-3 6-7 6-4 6-1 in strength-sapping conditions.
Ultimately he had too much quality for the world-ranked No.93 Brazilian, who had never won a match in New York.
It took Evans, 31, three hours but while he could have saved himself some time and stress, this was a professional show.
He took a grip on the encounter when he earned three break points before moving into a 5-3 lead and going onto take the set with a love hold in a quick-fire 47 minutes.
That was significant as he had failed to win the opening set in any of his six previous matches after struggling with the aftermath of Covid.
With temperatures in the 30s, the world No.25 wanted his man out of there quickly and was serving and volleying more often but Monteiro hung round to force a tie break – and won it 8-6, surviving an Evans set point, to level matters.
The third set was a war of attrition and, with the left-hander looking more comfortable in the conditions, he responded magnificently to win thanks to a single break.
He was helped by a second time violation for his rival on set point which left Monteiro with only one serve – and Evans punished him by stepping in to hammer home his return.
The Englishman needed treatment on his feet before the start of the fourth but he was on his toes soon enough to secure a quick break and there was no stopping him after that.
He stormed into a 5-0 lead against a dispirited opponent who never recovered from losing that third set and eased into the second round.
Evans said: “Getting Covid was pretty difficult for me.
“I was in a pretty good place and in good shape. It was just like an injury that ground me to a halt. I had a pretty bad headache and I have never had that before.
“I didn’t feel shortness of breath or anything, The lack of matches in my legs made me feel very tired but I felt pretty good at the end.
“I did well in these conditions. I’m hoping it’s no lasting effects from Covid – it’s just I’m not very fit at the minute.
“I did want to win that match to get myself on a roll again.
“It could have been easy to roll over when I lost the second set so I’m pretty satisfied with the way the match panned out. It was definitely one that gave me plenty of satisfaction.”