Dan Evans boosted by Roger Federer 'like a mirror' tribute as he reflects on Australian Open defeat

REUTERS
Paul Newman16 January 2019

Twelve months after he could not even bring himself to watch television coverage of last year’s Australian Open during his one-year ban for a drugs offence, Dan Evans proved here today he has lost none of his ability.

Evans was beaten 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 by Roger Federer in a high-quality match which entertained a packed crowd in Rod Laver Arena. Federer acknowledged Evans’s talent afterwards, while the Briton was left to reflect on how much has changed for him since the start of last year.

For the first nine months of his ban Evans did not even pick up a racket. “I was just at home in Cheltenham and just in the house — pretty much depressed, actually,” he said.

“I didn’t think I’d ever play again. They were difficult times. I didn’t know I would end up still having the people around me who were there. I was difficult to be around. Obviously, I owe them a lot.”

When Evans returned to competition in April he did not even have a world ranking but he has worked hard to earn a place back in the top 200, which in turn secured his place in the qualifying competition here at the Australian Open, in which he won all three of his matches.

Victory in the first round over Tatsuma Ito earned the world No189 a second competitive meeting with Federer, who beat him in straight sets at Wimbledon three years ago, and the Briton took his opportunity with both hands.

It was almost like a match from yesteryear, as the two men played an elegant all-court game, mixed baseline power with stylish slices and volleyed with confidence. There was even some occasional serve-and-volley as well as the rare sight of two players with one-handed backhands.

Federer said afterwards that playing Evans felt like “playing a mirror”. When told about the comment, Evans smiled. “I think he meant in game style rather than level,” Evans said. “There are similarities but he obviously does a lot of things better than me.”

Evans saved the only break point of the opening set at 5-6 and led 5-3 in the first tie-break before Federer won the last four points. Federer made an early break in the second set before Evans saved two set points at 3-5 and then broke back to force another tie-break, which the Swiss won 7-3. Federer took the third set with a single break of serve in the fourth game.

In Pictures | Australian Open Tennis 2019

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The former world No 1 said he could see Evans returning to the world’s top 50. “He’s a good player,” the defending champion said.

“I’ve seen him play some really good matches over the years. I see why he can cause difficulties. He’s got a nice slice and defends the court well. He has the variation, which is always a hard thing to play against.”

Evans’s next tournament is likely to be a Challenger in France next month. “That’s the real test for me — it’s not coming here to lose 6, 6 and 4 to Federer,” said the 28-year-old.

“It’s in a few weeks when I need to get my ranking points to get into the top 100. That’s when I need to put that sort of level back on the court.”

He added: “I think I needed a good result in a bigger tournament to give me confidence to go back to that and do some damage in those tournaments. Playing a good match today has given me a lot of confidence to go to the lower level, step up and get the job done.”

Katie Boulter also went out in the second round, though the 22-year-old Briton could take consolation from the fact that her conqueror is regarded by many as a dark horse to win the title here. Aryna Sabalenka, a 20-year-old from Belarus ranked No 11 in the world, won 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 13 minutes.

Sabalenka has a reputation as one of the game’s biggest ball strikers. Boulter (left) also hit the ball well but said afterwards that she felt “a little bit disappointed”.

She added: “I didn’t feel like I put my best game on the court. She played very well. It’s very tough to read her serve. She served great out there.”

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