- Dan Evans went five months without winning a single ATP Tour match this year
- He was reduced to competing in lowly events in Thailand and Bahrain
- WIN WIMBLEDON TICKETS in exclusive M+ competition with Emirates
Dan Evans broke down in tears during his Wimbledon press conference as he admitted how hard it as when ‘you feel like you’ve let people down’.
Evans has endured one of the toughest years of his professional career, going five months without winning a single ATP Tour match and slipping out of the top 200.
The 35-year-old was reduced to competing in lowly events in Thailand and Bahrain to try boost his world rank, battling at Challenger level events in front of a handful of fans.
Evans has improved on the grass court in recent months and again had to hold back tears after he beat world No 13 Tommy Paul to reach the quarter-final at Eastbourne to make it back-to-back wins against top-20 opposition after dispatching world No12 Frances Tiafoe at Queen’s.
The challenging journey clearly took its toll on Evans, who arrived at his 10th Wimbledon as a wildcard, as he burst into tears while explaining how difficult it has been to suffer such a difficult year.
‘It’s not the matches, it’s when you feel like you’ve let people down, that’s the tougher thing about it,’ said an emotional Evans.
‘I don’t worry about retirement but it’s just different isn’t it. To start losing, it’s scary at the end of the day to know sometimes you’re not good enough. It’s not an easy thing in sport to not be good enough.
‘I don’t know why I’m so emotional about it. I’ve spoken that much about it with other people. I guess I’m pretty proud of the last four or five months and how they’ve been. They’ve been difficult and I’m happy to have come through the other side.
‘I’m not scared of hard work, I’m more than happy to play the Challengers, it’s just when you shut the door at night and you do wonder what other people are thinking, what your wife’s thinking, is she thinking, come on mate, give this up, or your dad, your parents. It’s not a conversation you have very often.
‘But the last few weeks have been good to see I’ve still got it because it’s easy to say you believe it but it’s got to happen otherwise you drop down the rankings.
Evans faces fellow Brit Jay Clarke on Tuesday in the first round with the winner primed for a likely showdown with Novak Djokovic.
‘About 9,000 people have messaged me about it,’ replied Evans, when asked if he was just looking one match at a time.
‘Do you think we don’t have phones? It’s a bit like when a boxer’s got a big fight in front of them and he can’t overlook it.
‘I want to win that match [against Clarke] not just to play Novak but to get a crack at him. It’s a great incentive.’
