Eastbourne–
Dan Evans is in good form, having already won the Nottingham Open this grass-court season. He was defeated in the round of 32 at the Queens Club Championship to Matteo Berrettini but there is no shame in losing to last year’s Wimbledon finalist.
Speaking at Devonshire Park ahead of his first game at the Eastbourne International Evans reflected on how he has been since playing at Queen’s: “It’s going good. I had a few days off. Just trying to get into decent shape and then two or three days’ good practice at Wimbledon actually.
“It’s been nice to actually have no matches and just practice so it’s been good. Decided to come last night. Decided to play (in Eastbourne) yesterday and come this morning. It’s nice. Happy I’m here now. Glad I came, actually.”
Evans has been practicing at Wimbledon since Queen’s in preparation for SW19 which starts next week. “I hit with Andy (Murray) so it was pretty familiar surroundings. It was nice to see everybody. I’ve not seen those guys for a little while. It was nice to see everybody again and have a good practice.”
When asked how Murray was feeling ahead of Wimbledon Evans replied, “I thought he was playing pretty well. I’m not going to comment on if he thinks he’s playing well but he played well against me. I’m not sure how the injury is. It’s not something we spoke about. He seemed fine when we practiced but, obviously, I can’t be sure. It was a good practice, good fun.”
Playing Berrettini at Queen’s was a good test for Evans and the Brit believes the Italian could go one better at Wimbledon this year. “I think last year would have probably helped him, his run in Wimbledon, the belief he has probably taken from that. I’d probably say he was quite tired last week and he did it pretty easily, as well.
“Come Wimbledon, he’ll be as good as he’s got, I think. He took a long time out and then won back-to-back. I think at Wimbledon especially getting seeded eight now. I think he’s definitely one of the favourites.” Berrettini went on to defend his title at Queens.
Evans plays Tuesday against Adrian Mannarino and is feeling good after playing in two grass-court tournaments already this season. “I had a sore glute in the middle of Nottingham. Then obviously I had a pretty tough match in the first round at Queens. It was pretty physical, a lot of diving around after serves. I needed to look after that and see if I was okay but I’m fine.”
Main Photo from Getty.
