US Open 2024 day four: Evans, Draper and Swiatek win, Boulter out – as it happened | US Open Tennis 2024

Match reports

Before we go, a quick peek at the evening games: Naomi Osaka is in a spot of bother, losing the first set to Karolina Muchova 6-3 in a high-calibre meeting of unseeded players. Much more straightforward for Daniil Medvedev: he leads Fabian Maroszan 6-3, 2-0. But with the afternoon session ending, it’s time for us to sign off.

A word from Dan Evans: “I was just really tired since the match, so I didn’t hit yesterday and just recovered really well. The game plan was not very physical, it helped that I had to do [keep points short]. It really focused me. I felt a bit of extra pressure to win; to win that match [against Khachanov] and then lose the next … it wouldn’t have felt right.”

Dan Evans beats Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-3, 6-3

Evans bounced back in some style, reeling off a string of topspin-laden passing shots to break back again. Navone now holds to keep the match alive, but Evans will serve for the match after a modest 2hr 30mins …

Hmm. With the match having almost slipped away from him, Navone suddenly looks the more spritely and gets the break back, trailing 3-2. We’ll continue coverage until the end of this set; elsewhere, Daniil Medvedev has raced to a 5-1 lead over Marozsan, while Osaka and Muchova are on serve, Osaka leading 3-2.

Dan Evans is keen to keep the accelerator down, taking a 3-0 lead and threatening the double break – but Navone digs in to get on the board in the third set. Alex de Minaur is next up for the winner here, so Evans will want to get through this in straight sets.

They may not be the biggest names in the draw, but Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova might just be the longest names. It’s Pavlyuchenkova who has emerged from their three-set battle with victory; next for her, it’s Iga Swiatek.

Elsewhere, Canadian qualifier Gabriel Diallo has caused an upset, seeing off No 24 seed Arthur Fils in four sets. He faces No 14 seed Tommy Paul in the third round.

Thanks Katy. The evening matches are about to get started – Naomi Osaka v Karolina Muchova, and Fabian Marozsan v Daniil Medvedev – but marathon man Dan Evans is still out there. This doesn’t look like going the distance, though; Evans breaks early to lead Navone by two sets and a break.

Evans is channelling his inner Djokovic, engaging in a touch of a rope-a-dope with Navone. Having looked on his knees a few games ago, he’s broken, backed that up with a hold to love, and now has a set point on Navone’s serve at 30-40. A gruelling rally plays out, and somehow Evans chases everything down and takes it! He leads 6-4, 6-3 and is puffing at the changeover, barely able to breathe.

Diallo, meanwhile, has finished the job, reaching the third round at a slam for the first time in his young career, defeating Fils, another rising star, 6-4 in the fourth.

And with that, it’s time to hand you over to Niall for the third set of Evans v Navone …

Paul will face the winner of Arthur Fils v Gabriel Diallo, the 6ft 8in Canadian qualifier, who’s serving for that match at 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 5-4.

That’s the second retirement of the day after Pliskova’s, while Rybakina withdrew from her match without hitting a ball.

Hands are being prematurely shaken on Grandstand, where Max Purcell has surprisingly retired against Tommy Paul, with Paul leading 7-5, 6-0, 1-0. There’s no explanation yet of what was troubling Purcell; there were no signs of him struggling physically before he called time on the match.

The night session will be upon us in less than 10 minutes’ time, with Naomi Osaka facing Karolina Muchova, before Carlos Alcaraz v Botic van de Zandschulp. Cue some footage of Osaka warming up backstage, in an evening version of that outfit she wore the other day. This one is a black and white, instead of green and white.

Evans, leading 6-4, 2-2, appears to be struggling physically now. Which is no surprise at all after his marathon in the 30 degree heat two days ago. The temptation for Navone would be to just get the ball back into play, but that could hand the initiative back to Evans, and the Argentinian, to his credit, attacks to hold for 3-2.

Tommy Paul, having been pushed in the first set, is running away with it in the second, leading Max Purcell 7-5, 4-0. The 14th seed is the only American left in his half of the draw, but Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe are on the other side, as they seek to end their country’s 21-year men’s singles slam drought.

It’s not just the Australians who are having a good day, with the Italians also advancing en masse. After wins for Sinner, Paolini, Errani and Arnaldi, Flavio Cobolli has joined them in round three, with a come-from-behind 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 victory against Zizou Bergs. Meanwhile Bergs’s fellow Belgian Daveeed Goffin has reached the last 32 for the first time since 2020, beating France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (1).

A complete mis-hit gives Navone a break point in the second game of the second set, as a graphic appears on TV noting that Evans has still sliced 100% of his backhands in this match. I wonder if there’s a physical reason why he’s not hitting through on it – though apparently he was hitting plenty of topspin backhands when he was warming up. Navone rifles a forehand winner to claim the break for 2-0 – which stirs Evans into action. Finally he hits an attacking backhand on his way to getting to deuce on Navone’s serve … which after another deuce or two or three turns into Evans’s advantage. And there’s the break back! It’s Evans 6-4, 2-1 Navone.

There are two more Aussies in action right now. Max Purcell is level at five games all in the opening set against the American 14th seed Tommy Paul, while Tristan Schoolkate, having led the Czech Jakub Mensik by two sets to love, has conceded the third, 6-2.

Jannik Sinner is talking to Marion Bartoli on Sky. She asks him about the toll that his positive drugs tests have taken on him. “It’s easier because I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” he replies. Sinner advanced comfortably earlier, and will play one of Australia’s three winners so far today, Chris O’Connell, in the third round.

An errant backhand slice and it’s 15-30 on Evans’s serve. I understand his tactic here, but it would be good to see him throw in the odd attacking shot off that wing. He’s looking in good touch at the net, though, and a volley brings him to 30-all. And another gets him to 40-30, set point. Evans chooses an inopportune moment to serve his first double fault, and Navone finally comes up with a pass to turn set point into break point. But Evans wins the next three points to take the opening set 6-4! A fine effort after his draining duel on Tuesday.

A fourth break point comes and goes. Evans is huffing and puffing after bringing up a fifth. He hits five backhand slices in a row, still totally unwilling to unleash on that side, but eventually the ball goes to his forehand and he pulls the trigger! Finally he breaks and will serve for the first set at 5-4!

Evans, from 3-0 down, has come back at Navone for 4-4, and how he’d love to break the Argentinian here to get this first set completed ASAP. Evans is on his way to doing that when a deft volley gets him to 15-30, which is soon 15-40 when Navone throws in his 12th unforced error. Evans’s return is strong … but then he uncharacteristically dumps a sliced backhand into the net. Hopefully he won’t be left to regret that. But now there’s a netted forehand and it’s deuce, and then advantage Navone. Evans regroups to take the next two points, so here’s a third break point. But again Evans nets his backhand slice. I’m not sure he’s hit a single topspin shot on that side so far.

Fancy some extra reading? Sure you do!

The French phenom Arthur Fils has been one of the biggest risers in the rankings this season, and the 20-year-old has been rewarded with a seeding of 24 this fortnight. Now he’s showing the New Yorkers what all the hype is about.

The Evans serve is now up and running but he still trails by a break, 3-1. Navone’s tactic here must be to extend the rallies for as long as possible, and make Evans feel even more leggy, but Evans doesn’t let the Argentinian do that in game five as he breaks to 15 with some short points, though he does also get some help from Navone with a double fault. It’s Evans 2-3 Navone and they’re back on serve.

It’s 5.32pm in New York, with the day session finished on Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong, but we’ve still got six singles matches taking place. As well as Evans v Navone, it’s Arthur Fils 5-7, 7-6 (3) Gabriel Diallo, Elisabetta Cocciaretto 4-5 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Tristan Schoolkate 7-6 (4), 6-2 Jakub Mensik, Daveeeed Goffin 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-2 Adrian Mannarino and Flavio Cobolli 4-6, 6-3, 6-5 Zizou Bergs. Make that seven, because Tommy Paul will soon be under way against Max Purcell.

Evans is 2-0 down, but I wouldn’t say it’s been a particularly slow start by him, he did have a break point in the opening game, before being broken in the second after a 26-shot rally. He’ll want to keep the longer exchanges to a minimum today after playing the longest match in US Open history just 48 hours ago.

De Minaur wins against Virtanen 7-5, 6-1, 7-6 (3)

So it’s one Brit through and one Brit out so far today and here comes the third, as Dan Evans somehow finds the energy to walk on to court after his five hour 35 minute marathon on Tuesday. Now he’s got to find the energy to win three sets against Mariano Navone. The 23-year-old Argentinian clay-courter has little experience on hard courts, this is his first time playing in the second round in New York, so Evans will at least feel that even if he’s not at 100% (which he surely can’t be), he’ll still have a decent chance here.

I should add that the 10th seed is serving at 7-6, 6-1, 5-5. But let’s hear from Jack Draper, who’s speaking to Sky Sports. “I didn’t get enough court time the other day, but today I felt my tennis was in a good place,” he says. “My serve got me out of trouble and hopefully I can build on this performance. This is the grand slam I’ve had my best results at so far, I’m in the third round again, and there’s something about the conditions that really suit me.”

He’s then asked about the possibility of facing Alcaraz, whom he beat at Queen’s this summer. “I’ve played him a couple of times on a hard court too and that’s a different ball game,” Draper replies. “If I do play him I’ll be expecting a very different Carlos Alcaraz to the one at Queen’s.”

De Minaur!

Draper defeats Diaz Acosta 6-4, 6-2, 6-2

Tomorrow’s order of play. I’m not sure why Shelton v Tiafoe isn’t the night match on Ashe, but it means the day ticket holders on the main court will be very happy indeed, especially with Gauff v Svitolina too.

Zizou Bergs needs to take a bow too after this point:

The Belgian’s still got work to do, though. He’s locked at one set all against Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.

Alex de Minaur is now well on his way to victory too, leading the Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen 7-5, 6-1, 3-2 – with the third set going on serve. His fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis is out, though, crashing back down to earth after his first-round win over Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 defeat by the inspired Nuno Borges. This shot was ridiculous …

Draper has broken at 1-1 in each of the previous two sets, and he’s sensing blood once more at 15-40 on Diaz Acosta’s serve. A brilliant recovery shot down the line from the Briton and there’s the break. At 6-4, 6-2, 2-1, this is turning into what should be a fairly routine victory, after his assured performance in the first round, where he led Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 6-0, 4-0 when his opponent retired with a knee injury. And Draper will be relieved to have put his recent controversy in Cincinnati behind him.

Thanks Niall. An accomplished win by Pegula in what could have been a far trickier match against her fellow American, who won the Australian Open four years ago and defeated Emma Raducanu in the first round on Tuesday. Victory too for Beatriz Haddad Maia, who’s created a little bit of history for Brazil with her 6-2, 6-1 win over Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo:

Jessica Pegula closes the match out with an ace, beating Sofia Kenin 7-6, 6-3. next, she will play namesake Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who ousted Katie Boulter earlier on.

Jack Draper has closed out the second set to lead 6-4, 6-2, and the third set is on serve at 1-1. With that, time to hand you back to Katy …

Draper is close to wrapping up the second set, leading Diaz Acosta 6-4, 5-2. It’s also 5-2 to Jessica Pegula in the second set, while Sky have taken us out to Court Six, where Jamie Murray and John Peers were locked in a deciding tie-break in their men’s doubles first-round match – but they’ve just lost it, 13-11, to Andre Goransson and Sem Verbeek.

Sofia Kenin strikes back with an early break in the second set – but can’t back it up as Pegula hits straight back. Two-all in the second, and a frustrating day for Kenin after knocking Emma Raducanu out in the first round.

Adrian Mannarino (36 years old) leads David Goffin (33) after winning the first-set tie break between two wizened old stagers who are both significantly younger than me.

Pegula wins the tie-break, 7-4, with Kenin’s level dropping at the worst time after looking the better player for much of the third set. Alex de Minaur has now won seven games on the spin from 5-2 down, and leads Virtanen by a set and a break.

And Draper’s fightback to hold for the first set seems to have taken the wind out of his opponent. The Briton is now a double break up in the second, leading 6-4, 4-1.

Alex de Minaur has broken back against Virtanen, and is now serving at 5-4 down in the first set. His compatriot, Thanasi Kokkinakis, sent Stefanos Tsitsipas out in the first round but is two sets down to Portugal’s Nuno Borges in his second-round match.

On Louis Armstrong, American duo Sofia Kenin and Jessica Pegula are on a bit earlier than expected after Pliskova’s early retirement. Pegula has just served out to set up a first-set tie-break.

Jack Draper is serving for the set, but Diaz Acosta isn’t willing to hand it over – and punishes some weak first serves to bring up two break points. From 15-40 down, Draper gets his act together and seals the set with an ace out wide.

Swiatek beats Shibahara 6-0, 6-1

Elena Rybakina withdraws from tournament

Thanks, Katy. Swiatek is on the cusp of victory, leading Shibahara 6-0, 5-1 and ready to serve it out. No double bagel, but a bagel and a breadstick is on the cards.

Right I’m off for some dinner, so here’s Niall McVeigh to guide you through the next stages of Draper’s match and beyond …