Many tennis players go through highs and lows through the whole of their careers. The likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic have all experienced the ultimate triumphs in tennis, but they aren’t immune to the lows either–when you look at Federer having glandular fever, Nadal nursing many injuries, and Djokovic’s latest slump during the end of the 2016 season, leading into the 2017 season.
With that being said, there isn’t a player that has had more of a rocky career than Great Britain’s Dan Evans –and most of those peaks and troughs are all down to himself and the decisions that he has made through time. The latest decision of Evans was the latest setback in his career, where he addressed the British press and announced that he had tested positive for cocaine after providing samples back in April at the Barcelona Open. Could this really be the last we hear of Dan Evans on a tennis court?
Some of the lows, where Evans had previously put his career under threat, was in 2008 where he first lost his funding from the LTA, where pictures infamously were posted of Evans at a nightclub the night before a big Wimbledon juniors match. The LTA came to the conclusion that Evans didn’t want to compete hard enough, didn’t put enough effort and commitment in, and simply did not reach the standards that LTA expect of the British players.
That partnership was rekindled shortly after, but in 2012, the LTA again dropped the funding of Evans’ career, because of his lack of commitment to them, himself, and the sport. Surely this would be the last real blip in an already up-and-down career?
Things improved for Evans. He was instrumental in a lot of the Great Britain success at Davis Cup level. His success individually on the ATP tour has been great for the British tennis fans looking for someone to get behind outside of the likes of Andy Murray and Johanna Konta. The greatest moment for Evans came at the US Open last year, where he pushed the No.3 seed and 3-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka to the brink, losing out despite having a match point of his own, but reached the third round nevertheless.
Then we started to see the good Evans after making the fourth round of the Australian Open this year–his biggest accomplishment to date. He also moved into his first ever ATP level final, where he lost to Gilles Muller in Sydney. Things were changing for the Brit, but was he really turning a corner completely? Playing well at the highest level, competing week-in-week-out like every tennis player dreams of, soaring up the rankings to a career best of No. 41, but he made the latest of gaffes as he admitted he sent a positive sample back in April.
Is this latest turn of events a real final blow for him? He was ranked outside the Top 700 in May 2015 and rose inside the World’s Top 50, but at 27 years old, you have to feel that Evans can’t come back from this. First of all, you need to look at how Evans is feeling and processing this decision. Is Evans really the type of character to work twice as hard to put things right and end his rocky career on a high? Or will continue going on the slippery path that has forever adversely affected his career?
Many viewed Evans as the “reformed bad boy of tennis” but that seems to have only been temporary with the latest news that has bubbled to the surface. I think in most cases you would never rule out a champion, but Evans’ track record suggests this will be hard to come back from.
