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Australian Open: 5 things you ought to know about Dan Evans

Australian Open: 5 things you ought to know about Dan Evans
Australian Open: 5 things you ought to know about Dan Evans Australian Open: 5 things you ought to know about Dan Evans

Dan Evans pulled off the biggest win of his career by beating world number seven Marin Cilic in the second round of the Australian Open.

The British number three, who will play Australian Bernard Tomic in round three, should break into the top 50 for the first time as a result of his run in Melbourne.

Here are five things to help you get to know the 26-year-old from Birmingham.

1. Evans has now reached the third round of three successive grand slam tournaments – a far cry from the days when he looked set to be a wasted talent.

(Andy Brownbill/AP)

From a ranking outside 700 in June 2015, Evans climbed into the top 100 in less than a year and has continued to rise. A love of a good night out and a preference for being at home with friends rather than putting in the hard yards on courts across the world held Evans back until he discovered the right balance. “I have let a few people down at the wrong time but that is the only regret, really,” he said. “I had good fun, with good friends, made a lot of memories.”

2. Victory over Cilic gave Evans his second top-10 scalp in a week.

(Rick Rycroft/AP)

He arrived in Melbourne on the back of one of the best weeks of his career in Sydney. The 26-year-old defeated world number eight Dominic Thiem for his first victory over a top-10 player at the Apia International and went on to reach the first ATP Tour final of his career, losing to Gilles Muller.

3. Evans came closest to beating eventual US Open champion Stan Wawrinka in New York last year.

He held match point in a fourth-set tie-break against the Swiss but Wawrinka saved it and went on to win in five before beating Novak Djokovic in the final. Evans described the result as a “heart-breaker”. His first big breakthrough came at the US Open in 2013, when he beat Kei Nishikori and Tomic to make the third round at a slam for the first time.4. Evans played a key role in Britain’s rise up the Davis Cup rankings, leading to their shock title run in 2015.

(Joe Giddens/PA)

He upset two higher-ranked players against Slovakia in 2012 and then defeated Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy in a deciding rubber to send Britain to the verge of the World Group the following year. Not that all his memories in the competition have been positive. He was beaten by Leonardo Mayer in a fifth rubber as Britain’s title defence last year ended in a semi-final loss to Argentina, while it was Evans who lost the deciding match in the ignominious defeat by Lithuania in 2010.5. Evans’ mother Bernadette, a nurse, rarely watches his matches.

He said at the US Open: “She doesn’t really like it, to be honest, but I don’t like her job either.” He got into tennis through his first racket sport, squash, and is also a talented golfer. Evans is a football fan and supports Aston Villa.