Dan Evans has exited Wimbledon for another year after losing to Novak Djokovic.
The wily veteran, typified by his nip and tuck tactics and a beautiful slice backhand, was outclassed by Djokovic for much of the contest.
Despite putting in a valiant effort, the 35-year-old lost 3-6 2-6 0-6 – as John Isner predicted. Evans had beaten compatriot Jay Clarke in the first round.
Evans, who held a superior head-to-head record over Djokovic coming into the contest, acknowledged that the match may have represented a last opportunity to do something specific at Wimbledon.
Dan Evans says he may never get another chance to play on Centre Court
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Evans was candid about the quality of Djokovic, while also being realistic about his future in the sport.
He said: “I appreciate the chance to play on Centre Court again. Bottom line is I may never get another chance. I thought about that on the court.
“When you’re 35 you’ve got more perspective than when you’re 21.
“As I said before, I wanted to win the match, I believed I could win the match. I felt confident going into the match but it’s just such a hard task at hand and that’s it and I didn’t enjoy the match… I’m not going to say I enjoyed it or didn’t enjoy it.
“I understand the occasion and what a moment it was for myself to get to go out there and get to experience everything today.
“Of course it’s disappointing but I’ll look back – proud, happiness. It was a hell of an occasion and of course I wanted to win the match, it’s just very difficult to do that. In the last probably four, five games I soaked it up and I did enjoy it.”
The Brit struggled on serve throughout the contest, with Djokovic winning six of his 16 break-point opportunities.
Evans also only won 31 per cent of his second serve points and gave up a seven-game stretch to an imperious Djokovic.
Dan Evans won only nine points on the Djokovic serve
Despite his struggles on serve, it was perhaps Dan Evans’ return game which let him down the most.
The Brit struggled mightily on Djokovic’s serve, winning only nine points across the three sets. Remarkably, two of these points were break-point opportunities for Evans.
This nine-point figure paled in comparison to Djokovic’s total. The Serbian superstar, who is looking to land his 25th Grand Slam title and match Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles, won 48 points on Evans’ serve.
Djokovic has set up an all-Serbian affair in the third round against Miomir Kecmanovic, who Evans recently beat at the Eastbourne Open.
