Wimbledon 2021: Dan Evans coasts past Feliciano Lopez in straight-sets victory
British No 1 Dan Evans ended his four-match Grand Slam losing streak as he beat Feliciano Lopez in straight sets to reach round two at Wimbledon. Harriet Dart was meanwhile beaten by world number 13 Elise Mertens.
Tuesday 29 June 2021 20:57, UK
A roar and a flurry of fist pumps told the story for Dan Evans as he marched on to the second round at Wimbledon with a straight-sets win over Feliciano Lopez.
An assured performance was rewarded with a 7-6 (4) 6-2 7-5 victory for the British No 1, who in turn ended his four-match Grand Slam losing streak.
Evans, recently beaten by Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals at Queen's Club, is bidding to progress beyond the third round in the competition for the first time. He will now meet Dusan Lajovic in the next round after the Serbian beat France's Gilles Simon in five sets.
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"It was great, thanks to everybody for coming out, amazing to be back playing at Wimbledon," said Evans in his on-court interview. "It was great to be back and I didn't realise it would be as busy.
"'I am delighted to win, I played some good tennis and he was difficult to face on the grass so I'm just happy how I came through it.
"In the first set I was probably playing a bit too into myself, but then once I let it go a bit, I really got rolling. At the end, I was patient, scraped the last game and that was a good mental effort today.
"I am working to get to that place with my game, not give away any days, work on my game and it's been working well."
There was little to split the two men through a steady first set until Evans earned himself some daylight with a 4-1 lead in the tie-break before seeing off a momentary fightback from 39-year-old Lopez, who was featuring at his 19th Wimbledon Championship having played in every Grand Slam tournament since the 2002 French Open.
The Spaniard appeared to be nursing a minor thigh problem as the match progressed and struggled to find consistency on his first serve, however, still managed to flash glimpses of his typically exquisite finesse at the net.
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Nonetheless, his opponent refused to budge as Evans displayed the mental resilience and composure to recover from any mistakes in quick fashion.
Evans took advantage of the Spaniard's unforced errors to win five successive games en route to claiming the second set, before being forced to work again in the third as he rescued two break points at 3-3. A second tie-break had looked in the offing at one stage, only for Evans to convert a first match point in the 12th game.
The 31-year-old has been British No. 1 for close to three years, but entered Wimbledon amid a bad spell on the Grand Slam stage having been knocked out in the first round at both the Australian and French Open.
He was asked after the match whether be believed he required a deep run in the tournament in order to warrant more recognition.
"No, I don't think, listen, being British No. 1 is great and everything, but my goal is to progress in these tournaments, albeit Wimbledon, US Open," he said.
"Wherever I get the opportunity to, I try and take that chance. Again, sort of the same with the seeding. I don't think I need to get recognition from outside. I think I put enough work in and I've got my own self-satisfaction.
"Hopefully the people who do watch recognise I'm okay at this sport. If the people don't think I'm much good, then that's all good, as well. I'm enjoying being out there. Just happy to get a win here at Wimbledon, yeah.
Elsewhere, Britain's Harriet Dart suffered a 6-1 6-3 defeat to world number 13 Elise Mertens, who finished the job in 77 minutes. Fellow compatriot Fran Jones also exited in the first round at the hands of a 7-5 6-4 defeat to American teenager Coco Gauff.
Cam Norrie saw his clash against Lucas Pouille suspended due to bad light with the British number two trailing by a set after losing 8-6 in the tie break, during which he had squandered two set points. Earlier in the day, British number six Jay Clarke lost 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5) to Egor Gerasimov of Belarus.
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