Bedene ‘not British’ says Evans
DAN EVANS may have turned his career around and established himself in the upper reaches of the world rankings – his current position is No58, his best is No41 – but clay-court tennis still remains a bit of a mystery. Evans was swiftly removed from the Mutua Madrid Open yesterday in a 7-5, 6-2 first-round defeat by Robin Haase that took no more than 80 frustrating minutes. It had taken a lifetime for Evans to notch up a win at Tour level on the red dirt – in Barcelona 10 days ago – and for two years, he simply avoided the surface like the plague.
But now that his ranking earns him entry to the big events, he is obliged to play them, and, after his initial burst of success, he was back to the familiar routine yesterday. He is now down to fourth in the British pecking order having been overtaken by Aljaz Bedene, who was born in Slovenia but took British citizenship two years ago.
Despite his UK passport, Bedene is not allowed to represent Britain in the Davis Cup under International Tennis Federation rules as he had previously represented Slovenia in three ties.
Bedene tried to overturn his ban but his appeal was rejected by an arbitration hearing in March, and Evans firmly believes that makes him No3 in the national order.
“I don’t think he [Bedene] really believes he’s British either,” Evans said. “It’s nothing against Aljaz. I like him, he’s not confrontational in any way – but to me it doesn’t sit well if you play for another country.”
Spain’s Rafael Nadal is suffering from a middle-ear infection and has requested a late start to his Madrid campaign.