The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Evans loses to De Minaur in Nature Valley Open final
Dan Evans came up short in his bid to win the first title of his comeback at the Nature Valley Open in Nottingham.
The former British No 2 was beaten 7-6 (7/4) 7-5 by 19-yearold Australian Alex De Minaur, who broke into the top 100 by reaching the final in Surbiton last weekend.
He went one better yesterday, coming from 4-2 down to win the first set on a terrific lob that prompted a shout of “too good” from his opponent.
It was Evans who had to dig deep in the second set, saving break points to avoid going a double break down at 0-2 before getting back on serve.
But a double fault on break point at 4-4 handed De Minaur the chance to serve for the title. Evans broke back to keep his hopes alive but was then broken again and this time De Minaur made no mistake.
Evans now heads to Queen’s Club, where he has been handed a wild card for the Fever-Tree Championships and will play his first ATP Tour event since his 12-month drugs ban.
A disappointing day for Britain was completed when Johanna Konta lost 6-3 3-6 6-4 to Ashleigh Barty in the final of the women’s singles.
Konta and Barty took to the court after Evans’ defeat by De Minaur, and again it was Australia that came out on top.
Konta was looking to go one better than last year, when she defeated Barty on her way to the final before losing to Donna Vekic.
Konta did well to win the second set, withstanding pressure from Barty before breaking to lead 5-3, and showed resilience to recover from 4-1 down in the decider to level 4-4.
Konta was furious with the umpire for not over-ruling a Barty shot that looked long as the Australian held for 5-4, saying to the official: “It’s an absolute joke. You’re making decisions that affect our lives. Do you fully understand that?”
And she won only one more point as Barty clinched victory with a backhand pass.
Konta failed to shake the umpire’s hand at the end of the match.