Dan Evans rallies to join Novak Djokovic in Australian Open second round
Dan Evans squeaked into the second round of the Australian Open just before heavy rain drenched Melbourne on day one, but he knows Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka could wreck his ambitions to play Novak Djokovic in the third round.
In the final match of a Monday schedule torn apart by the weather, Djokovic, the defending champion, was under the roof on Rod Laver where he beat the resolute German, Jan-Lennard Struff, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. He was hitting his winners so beautifully in the first two sets that he lapsed into inexplicably lazy tennis, handing Struff the third set with three double faults in the eighth game.
But the Serbian rediscovered his rhythm to seal his 900th career win and is still the clear favourite to win the title - for the eighth time. He won’t know who he’s playing next until the backlog of 19 first-round matches is cleared on day two.
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“I started well, second set I played really well, then he turned it around, not missing much,” Djokovic said courtside. “He’s a very powerful player. I can’t take things for granted, and have to enjoy every moment.”
Earlier Evans, the British No1 and seeded in a slam for the first time after a rousing start to the season but parked on a ridiculously tiny outside court, overcame nerves and weariness to beat the world No129, Mackenzie McDonald, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3. “I was nearly on the railway track,” he laughed.
Nishioka took three sets to tame Evans in Atlanta in 2016, then gave him only five games in Washington last year. Here, he was too good for the promising Serb, Laslo Djere, over four sets.
There will be no shortage of incentive for Evans, who who hit a sublime peak in Sydney last week when he got the better of Alex de Minaur in three excellent sets in the ATP Cup. The Australian, fast becoming a national hero, subsequently pulled out of the first slam of the year with what he described as a “serious” stomach muscle tear, but it was one of Evans’s best wins. However, he did not carry his Sydney form into the first two sets against McDonald, a one-time American college star, and admitted he felt, “flat” and “tired”.
He was reminded of Tim Henman’s recent observation that he could, “miss a few meals”. Evans smiled and replied: “I am in good shape – there is no question about that. I have got strong legs and a good set of lungs. Everyone can be in better shape – that is just normal, isn’t it. But I am still trying to improve on and off the court.
“When you are tired, your patience is less and that is just how I thought I was today. I was frustrated over not a lot, really. Listen, when you are two sets to love down, you think you are going home. That’s the fact of it – you are not in a good position. I was just happy to turn it. Once I had got up in the third, I felt pretty good that he was flagging a bit and I was going up.” His immediate challenge is an opponent as hungry as he is.
“If I’m being totally honest,” Evans said looking back on his matches against Nishioka, “I had a real bad mental performance last time. It was just before I split with my coach, so I wouldn’t read too much into it. He moves well, good backhand, doesn’t come in so well, not such a good serve but he’s pretty quick and likes to counter-punch.”
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While Evans did well to get out of the elements before a second day of heavy rain, Federer – in the top quarter on that side of the draw - was grateful for the roof on Laver and thrashed the American Steve Johnson, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. But the young Italian, Jannik Sinner could be waiting him in the fourth round if he can finish off the Australian qualifier, Max Purcell, from 7-6 (2), 6-2, 4-4 up when his match resumes on Tuesday. Grigor Dimitrov is a formidable roadblock in round two, though.
Federer remembers hitting with Sinner in Rome and Monaco last summer, “What I like about him is that he’s almost got the same speed on the forehand and backhand, similar to Felix [Auger-Aliassime] and some other guys,” Federer said. “Obviously he needs to manage when to pull the trigger and how big you can go, because it’s not realistic to keep on whacking the ball full speed.
“He has great footwork for a big guy. Like most of the best movers in the game right now, he can also play open stance and closed stance, which is a huge advantage for his movement in the future. I think we’ll see so much more from him. He’s an exciting guy and super sweet kid.” Federer might not hold that opinion if Sinner pulled off the upset of the young season at the weekend.
The Canadian 13th seed, Denis Shapovalov, blew up in a rancorous loss to the unfancied Marton Fucsovics – and goes home soon ahead of schedule. He was the only player in either draw to declare he would walk off court if the quality of air dipped dangerously. The dial was stuck on 1 all day. “Near perfect”, according to the tournament.
Kyle Edmund was 5-2 up against Dusan Lajovic, the 24th seed, on Court 15, and as frustrated as many others waiting for the weather to improve. The public meanwhile, were relieved to see the skies open over the bushfires burning in north-east Victoria.
