Dan Evans is through to the second round of the Eastbourne Open after battling past Miomir Kecmanovic.
The British player, ranked 170 in the world, has now recorded two top 50 wins in the past two weeks, having beaten Frances Tiafoe at the Queen’s Club Championships.
The 2015 Davis Cup champion battled past the Serbian player on Centre Court as he looks to hit form at the right time before Wimbledon.
Evans has set up an enticing clash against number two seed Tommy Paul, after winning 3-6 6-4 6-4.
Following his victory, Evans spoke to the crowd and thanked them for attending the match.
Dan Evans issues a rallying cry ahead of Tommy Paul clash
Speaking to Tennis TV on Centre Court on Tuesday afternoon, Evans complimented the crowd and encouraged them to get behind him against American Tommy Paul.
When asked about playing Paul, Evans said: “It’s why everybody plays the game, if you’re at the start of your career or sort of towards the end you wanna play the top players in the world and that’s definitely one of the top players in the world is Tommy.
“He’s great on the grass, on every surface. With the crowd and this grass court, we’ve got a chance.”
Earlier in the interview, 35-year-old Evans noted the unforgiving weather and noted his limited time left in the sport.
He added: “Thanks to everybody who came out, it’s not an easy day to stand and watch that tennis or sit and watch that tennis.
“Obviously I haven’t come to Eastbourne that much but it’s a great place to play tennis, especially on this centre court and the fans are always packed out every day and the players love it when you guys come so thanks a lot.
“Whatever time I have left, it’s a work in progress.
“Me and my coach have been working hard on certain things like everybody else does but you know sometimes it takes time.
“I’ve been battling away to try and get the level on the court and it’s a bit strange that it’s happened in England but funny things happen don’t they.
“Feeling really confident and probably the most confident I’ve been on the grass for a long time.”
Evans moves to 160 in the world on live rankings
Evans, who reached a career-high of 21 in the world in 2023, has moved up 10 places following his victory over Kecmanovic, according to the ATP live rankings.
Evans will be hoping to continue his form into Wimbledon after a stellar couple of weeks. The former British number one was given a wildcard for this year’s event, and he will be looking to better his performance from last year, where he lost in straight sets to Alejandro Tabilo in the first round.
Various British players are set to compete at Wimbledon this year and they will find out their opponents on June 27 when the draw is released. Evans recently tipped one British player for future success.
