Rafa’s glory as Dan steps up comeback
WHILE Dan Evans has little cause to remember Barcelona with much joy, it remains a place of serene happiness for Rafael Nadal.
As Evans — who had his infamous positive drugs test in the Catalan capital a year ago — was qualifying yesterday for the main draw of the Glasgow Trophy, the world No 1 was romping to yet another title in his native Spain.
His 6- 2, 6- 1 victory over Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas gave him an 11th triumph in Barcelona, to follow his 11th in Monte Carlo the previous week. Next month he will go for an 11th French Open title at Roland Garros.
Such is his continuing dominance at this time of year that it would take an upset of staggering proportions to stop him in Paris, unless he suffers an injury.
His wins on clay are so taken for granted that it was the identity of yesterday’s opponent that was probably of more interest, Tsitsipas being only 19 and the first Greek to make the final of a main tour ATP final in 35 years.
The world No 63 is a name to mark down for the future but, like every other aspiring champion, he has a long way to go before dislodging Nadal on clay.
Evans made the main draw of his comeback event from a year’s ban for taking cocaine when he beat Ireland’s Sam Barry 6-4, 6-1 in the final qualifying round at the Scotstoun Centre. He will now meet world No 302 Lucas Miedler, of Austria, in the first round proper.
The win will be enough to give the 27-year- old Midlander a world ranking (around 1,200 minimally) and he needs to garner points as quickly as possible to stop relying on wildcards as the grasscourt season approaches.
He is unlikely to be granted a wildcard at Wimbledon, and there will be a limit to the privileged entries he can be given at other British events.
James Ward is another notable British entry in the Glasgow main draw as the former Davis Cup player continues his return from persistent knee problems.
There was a British winner on the main ATP Tour yesterday when another Davis Cup player, Dom Inglot, took the doubles title in Budapest with Croatia’s Franko Skugor, a late replacement for injured Marcus Daniell.
They beat Matwe Middelkoop and Andres Molteni 6-7, 6-1, 10-8.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams has said that she ‘definitely’ plans to play the Italian Open in Rome and the French Open next month as she rejoins the comeback trail following the birth of her daughter.
Williams told the that there was a chance she would play the Madrid Open, which starts a week today, but that she wanted to be sure she was in good enough physical shape, having felt sluggish when playing at Indian Wells and Miami in March. New York Times