Carlos Alcaraz defeated Dan Evans in the third round of US Open and while delighted with his win, the defending champion cherished the simile coming from the other side of the net at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The pair displayed their best for a four set showdown that took 3 hours and 10 minutes to complete but felt as good as a five set battle.
Alcaraz delivered a 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win against Evans to improve his head-to-head 3-0 against the 33-year-old. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Evans pulled all the tricks and threw everything at the Wimbledon champion in what could be metered as an engaging contest at the center court but couldn’t succeed.
“He’s a tricky opponent. He always wants to go to the net. Great slices, good touch,” said Alcaraz of Evans in his on-court interview.
“I think this is my game as well, so we played a pretty good match. I think the people loved that. We made great points, great shots, a lot of different situations probably than in other matches. I’m really happy to get through and play the fourth round again in the US Open.”
Alcaraz absorbing everything from the Evans needed to find his ace game to tackle the challenge of Brit and a performance like this would certainly help while entering the second week for the title defense.
The Murcia-native feels that the match was full of joyful tennis and hoped it didn’t fail to amuse the electric New York crowd.
“We played great points that made us smile,” said Alcaraz. “Daniel as well. It’s great to see that on a tennis court. Obviously, we play to make the people happy as well, to entertain them and try to make the match fun. It’s great to have that kind of point as well and feel the energy that [the crowd] are enjoying it as well.”
There were occasions where the gritty Brit lost it all and was clearly stunned by the unreal shot-making abilities of the Spaniard who will get Matteo Arnaldi in the final 8 of the season-ending slam.
Alcaraz is set to become the first man to defend the US Open title since Roger Federer recorded five successive final victories at Arthur Ashe from 2004 to 2008.
“Obviously I focus day by day,” said Alcaraz.
“Defending the title here is a goal for me. I know that nobody has defended the title since Roger Federer, so I would love to be part of tournament history with Roger. This is my main goal right now and I am looking for that.”