{{A battling Dan Evans could not take his surprise US Open run into the second week as he lost to Spanish 19th seed Tommy Robredo in four sets.}}
The Briton, 23, had two set points on his own serve to force a decider but could not convert, and Robredo won the third-round match 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 4-6 7-5 in three hours and 13 minutes.
Robredo, who struggled with a leg injury in the closing stages, fought back superbly from 5-3 down in the fourth set to claim victory.
Evans, ranked 179th, earned £60,000 in prize money for his efforts and enough points to get close to the world’s top 150, but missed out on a possible dream fourth-round match against Roger Federer.
“It was a tough one, especially to go down in the fourth set after serving for it and having two set points,” Evans told media.
“I felt in pretty much total control of the match. The last point is always the hardest one and I couldn’t get that last point of the set to take it to a fifth.
“I just played two really loose points – that’s all it was. They came at the wrong time. I just have to learn on that for next time.”
It was the British number three’s sixth match in 10 days at Flushing Meadows after coming through three rounds of qualifying, then beating 11th seed Kei Nishikori and world number 52 Bernard Tomic.
He had never won a match in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament before New York, and playing under lights on the Louis Armstrong Stadium, albeit in front of a sparse crowd, was a far cry from the Challenger events he is more used to.
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