Evans faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a place in the Australian Open quarter-finals
Saturday 21 January 2017 08:29, UK
Dan Evans has adopted a more aggressive approach which has helped him develop a knack of upsetting big-name opponents at the Australian Open. How much further will the giant-killer go?
From being one of the country's greatest prospects to having his funding cut by the LTA, Evans' tale has all too often been one of missed opportunities.
The signs that it is not too late for Evans to make a real success out of his career appear increasingly positive, having once looked destined to join the hefty scrapheap of wasted British tennis talents.
Last week, he recorded his first victory over a top-10 opponent when he beat Dominic Thiem and went on to reach his first tour final at the Sydney International before losing to Gilles Muller.
Over the last 18 months, Evans has climbed more than 700 places in the world rankings and troubled some of the world's best players. He had a match point against Stan Wawrinka, the eventual champion, at last year's US Open. Evans described the result as a "heart-breaker".
His confidence and never-say-die attitude has seen him record the biggest win of his career in dumping out Marin Cilic in the Australian Open second round, his first victory over a top-10 player at a Grand Slam which he quickly followed up by ousting Bernard Tomic to reach the last 16 in Melbourne.
It is Evans' best Grand Slam result, having reached the third round of the 2013 and 2016 US Opens and last year's Wimbledon.
His remarkable progress also represents the first time Britain has had two players in the last 16 of the Australian Open singles since Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski made it in 2001. Andy Murray had earlier beaten Sam Querrey in straight sets on Hisense Arena.
While Evans' victory over Tomic was another major upset, it will have come as no major shock to close followers of the 26-year-old from Solihull.
A decisive final-rubber loss to world No 114 Leonardo Mayer at the Davis Cup came after a solid showing at Flushing Meadows, but things went from bad to worse for Evans after losing a kit deal with Nike in December. He could have been forgiven for feeling down on his luck.
"I have let a few people down at the wrong time but that is the only regret, really," Evans said. "I had good fun, with good friends, made a lot of memories."
He has since responded impressively, with evidence to suggest he has used the pain of what happened last year as a catalyst to make massive improvements in his game during the off-season at the IMG Academy.
Evans has taken on a more aggressive stance, adopting a different strategy by chipping his returns and making more use of his backhand slice - but fitness is key to his game-plan.
The British No 3 opted to head to the Hopman Cup as his first event, knowing six competitive matches would be guaranteed and endured three-successive losses to higher-ranked players along with doubles defeats alongside Heather Watson.
The work paid off in Sydney, and his physical conditioning and focus have undoubtedly improved, with four successive three-set matches won in Sydney before coming from behind to see off Cilic.
Who would bet against Evans wearing those $13 white t-shirts by the time he plays in his next ATP tournament?
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