Dan Evans misses out of third-round glamour tie with defending champion Novak Djokovic
Wednesday 22 January 2020 09:26, UK
British No 1 Dan Evans was unable to book his place in the third round of the Australian Open as he went down in straight sets to Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka.
Evans went down 6-4 6-3 6-4 and missed the opportunity of taking on seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in the next round.
The world No 32 had fought back from two sets down to defeat Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round but admitted he did not feel good physically and he looked flat again against a higher-class opponent.
Evans' busy start to the season, particularly his heroics for Britain at the ATP Cup, appear to have caught up with him, and this was a disappointing way to end his first Grand Slam as a seed.
He just makes it difficult for me, I don't like playing him.
Evans admitted afterwards that he had hoped not to face Nishioka, saying: "I knew it would be difficult. In all honesty, I didn't want him to win against (Laslo) Djere.
"When it was windy like that I knew exactly how he would play and I couldn't break him. I didn't play great, but all credit to him, he played pretty good.
"Some days you look forward to matches and I didn't look forward to it. I just find him overly awkward. He made it literally as awkward as possible."
Evans insisted he had given the best he had despite his dislike of facing Nishioka, adding: "I still walk on the court thinking I can win the match.
"He just makes it difficult for me, I don't like playing him. You know how you feel in yourself as well, it's going to be a tough day, but put it on the court and I did that and it wasn't good enough."
It will be Djokovic next for Nishioka, ranked 71, after the defending champion eased into round three with a 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory over another Japanese player, Tatsuma Ito.
The Serbian earned his 70th career win in Melbourne, serving 16 aces while he never faced a break point. He extended his record to 13-1 in second-round matches at the tournament.
Djokovic has now won 10 of his 11 meetings with wild cards at the Grand Slams, only losing to Denis Istomin in the second round at Melbourne three years ago.
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