Edmund shock at Evans drug news

BRITISH No 2 Kyle Edmund admits he was lost for his words after hearing his compatriot Dan Evans had failed a drugs test.

Evans announced on Friday he had tested positive for cocaine at the Barcelona Open in April and the 27-year-old could now be banned for up to four years by the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Te n n i s Federation.

Edmund knows Evans well from their exploits together for Britain in the Davis Cup, with the pair leading the charge i n January against Canada in the absence of Andy Murray.

“I haven’t spoken to him. I don’t think anyone has spoken to him to be honest,” Edmund said.

“I haven’t seen him, first of all, he’s obviously not around at the tournaments. The only way I could have spoken to him is maybe sent him a text but I haven’t sent him a text just because yeah, I don’t really know what to say.

“Or probably he might just want to be left alone. I could have maybe said, ‘sorry to hear the news’ or something. But yeah, I haven’t.

“If I saw him now I’d still get along with him fine but like I said, it isn’t easy. Once it’s out what he’s done, he k n o w s h e ’s m a d e a mistake.”

Evans has been charged with a doping violation and provisionally suspended by the ITF, meaning he will now miss Wimbledon, which starts on Monday.

“It’s just a bit of a downer to see sort of news like that,” Edmund added.

Dan Evans announced testing positive for cocaine on Friday.