EVANS SET FOR GLASGOW RETURN
DAN EVANS is expected to make his comeback from a cocaine ban late next month at the new Challenger level event to be staged in Glasgow, provided he is given a wildcard. The former British No 2 is said to have pencilled in the qualifying rounds of the £70,000 tournament to make his return — just four days after his year-long suspension ends on April 23. Evans would need a privileged entry from the Lawn Tennis Association to allow him to enter the preliminary phase of the event, which takes place at the Scotstoun Leisure Centre from April 28. After that, his schedule is likely to take in at least one of the outdoor hard-court bottom-tier Futures tournaments due to happen in Tunisia in May as he starts out on the long road back from testing positive at last year’s Barcelona Open. The 27-year-old Englishman, who reached a ranking high of No 41, has been promised assistance from the LTA providing he abides by certain criteria. This will involve being part of doping education programmes and it is also understood that Evans will have to meet strict weight and fitness targets to ensure he receives backing. If he does so, then it is likely there will be help with wildcards at tournaments run by the LTA, who set a precedent last year by offering a privileged entry to Maria Sharapova after she had completed her ban for Meldonium use. That will be a separate dilemma for Wimbledon, who are solely responsible for the issuing of their own wildcards. Under the terms of his punishment, which also involved paying back £90,000 in prize money, Evans is allowed to use LTA facilities for the last two months of his suspension as he prepares for his return and he has been training in Bath and Birmingham. Meanwhile, British No 1 Kyle Edmund is planning an unusually heavy programme of clay-court events as he tries to regain momentum after his run to the Australian Open semi-finals. His spring schedule will take in Marrakech, Monte Carlo, Estoril, Madrid and Rome before the French Open. ‘I had a really good start to the year, so it’s not like I have to chase anything,’ said Edmund, whose progress was blown off course after he picked up a heavy virus in February. ‘On clay, there are a lot more rallies, the movement is different, there are things you must adapt to. I know I can play well on it, so I look forward to that.’