A stunning comeback from Englishman Dave Evans sent Australian Alexei Popyrin packing from Flushing Meadows.
In a loss that may haunt the Australian for some time, Popyrin led two sets to love but couldn’t fight off a resurgent Evans, who prevailed in the deciding tiebreak to reach the last-16 of the US Open for the first time with a 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(1) victory.
In a four hour classic, Popyrin looked dominant in the opening two sets, showing much of the form that saw him dispatch of the injured Grigor Dimitrov in the last round.
The Aussie was looking to advance to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career and also aiming to score consecutive wins against a seeded opponent at a Grand Slam.
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Instead it was the first time Popyrin went down after leading by two sets, leaving the Aussie despondent on the side of the court.
Overall, Popyrin hit 77 winners and served 18 aces but couldn’t keep his unforced error count down later in the match.
31-year-old Evans didn’t hit as many winners as the Aussie, with 48, but played a cleaner game as the match wore on, committing just eight unforced errors across the five sets. In the final set he hit just one unforced error.
It is the fourth five-set win of Evans’ career – and the second time the veteran has recovered from a two-set deficit.
Popyrin was the last remaining Australian in the US Open 2021 men’s singles draw.
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