Dan Evans refused to retire at the US Open despite illness and a hip injury and insisted: “I don’t give a f*** if the scores says 6-0 6-0.”
The British No 5 played the longest match in US Open history in the first round.
And that gruelling affair caught up with him against Alex De Minaur.
He took a pill on court and needed treatment during the third set, ultimately losing 6-3 6-7 6-0 6-0. Sections of the crowd started to boo as Evans clearly struggled but he did not want to pull out.
Evans, 34, has only retired six times in 894 matches in his long career. And he insisted: “I wasn’t tempted to stop. I think it is about respect. I was relatively OK in the third set.
“It was pretty bemusing that they started to boo me when the irony was I was staying out there for them. And of course I respect Alex. I don’t think you should be pulling out in a Grand Slam.
“You finish the match. That’s just my way. And that’s how I was brought up. You stay till the end and shake hands. And he actually said, ‘Thanks for staying out there, respect’. And that’s not what I am doing it for. But people come into and pay and some are happy and some are not.
“After the second set, it reads: 6-0 6-0. But that’s by the by, for me, I couldn’t, couldn’t give a —- what if says of six love, six love. I stayed out there to fight until the last ball.”
READ MORE HERE
Belle Vernon junior Gabby Dusi successfully defended her WPIAL Class AA Individual Singles Tennis Championship gold medal Thursday with a 6-1, 6-0, victory over
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. With the
Prince Harry's genuine side revealed in latest appearance.Prince Harry radiated positivity during his recent appearance at a charity tennis tournament in
Four of the top five seeds remain in the draw as we reach the quarterfinal round of the WTA Korea Open in Seoul. Diana Shnaider and Marta Kostyuk is a fascinat