Dan Evans is beaten by Bernard Tomic as Australia level Davis Cup semi-final
Friday 18 September 2015 19:18, UK
Great Britain's Dan Evans suffered a battling defeat to Bernard Tomic as Australia levelled the Davis Cup semi-final.
The world No 300 was a surprise selection for the second singles match of the day and could not prevent Tomic from completing a 6-3 7-6 6-7 6-4 victory, despite staging a determined fightback at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.
British No 1 Andy Murray had cruised to a straight sets win over Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first match, but Tomic's win ensured that Australia ended Friday tied at 1-1 with the hosts.
Tomic, with a far superior world ranking of 23, raced through the first set and then opened a 2-0 lead in the second, increasing fears that he could outclass Evans.
But the Birmingham man broke back and took the set into a tie-break, only for Tomic to quieten the vocal crowd by edging into a two-set lead.
Evans again displayed his grit in the third set as he fought back from a break down and then won the tie-break after Tomic flicked the ball wide.
After seizing two more breaks, Tomic opened a commanding 5-2 lead in the fourth and Evans could only haul back one break of his own before he succumbed to defeat.
