The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Evans shakes off frustration to advance at Australian Open –
British No 1 overcomes tiredness and frustration in Melbourne triumph
Dan Evans stared at an early exit from the Australian Open before turning things around against Mackenzie McDonald and recording the first fiveset comeback of his career.
The British No 1 had never previously won a match after losing the first two sets but he found his game just in time at a chilly and blustery Melbourne Park to win 3-6 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-3.
Evans cut a frustrated figure during the first two sets, shouting frequently at his support camp and hurling his racket in anger during a tense final game of the second set.
His terrific form in the ATP Cup elevated his ranking to a career-high 32 ahead of the tournament, earning him a seeding for the first time at a grand slam.
Evans spoke ahead of the tournament about the need to handle the status of favourite and impose his game on lower-ranked opponents, something he certainly was unable to do against world No 129 McDonald.
He cited fatigue after an intense start to the season for his early struggles and demeanour, saying: “When you are tired, your patience is less and that is just how I thought I was today.
“I was frustrated over not a lot really. When you are two sets to love down, you think you are going home. I was just happy to turn it. Once I had got up in the third, I felt pretty good that he was flagging a bit and I was going up.
“I just hung in, I felt my level was there somewhere. I changed my game a little bit, started making a few more balls and in the end I thought I was pretty strong.
“I’m just relieved to have come through and started some momentum in this tournament. It would have been a poor end to a good trip to have lost first round.”
McDonald missed the second half of last season through injury and he faded after an impressive start, with Evans seizing the initiative at the start of the third set and not letting go.
At the end of the match he patted his stomach in an apparent reference to Tim Henman’s jibe that he “could miss a few meals”.
“It was just a bit of a joke to the guys in the corner,” he said.
“I am in good shape – there is no question about that. I have got strong legs and a good set of lungs. Everyone can be in better shape but I am still trying to improve on and off the court.
“After this tournament, maybe take this conversation into a room and see if he has got a point or not.”
Evans revealed he is in talks over a new clothing sponsorship deal, and a third-round clash with Novak Djokovic would raise his profile further, but first he must beat talented Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka, who he has lost to twice, including in Washington last summer.
“If I’m being totally honest, I had a really bad mental performance last time,” said Evans.
“It was just before I split with my coach (David Felgate) so I wouldn’t read too much into the last one. We’ll see what happens. He moves well, good backhand, doesn’t come in so well, not such a good serve but he’s pretty quick and likes to counter-punch.”
British No 2 Kyle Edmund made an excellent start against 24th seed Dusan Lajovic, opening up a 5-2 lead before rain sent the players back to the locker room.
The weather did not relent and all outdoor matches, which also included Johanna Konta’s clash with Ons Jabeur, were eventually cancelled for the day.
Novak Djokovic meanwhile dropped a set in the first round of the Australian for the first time in 14 years but recovered to beat Jan-Lennard Struff.
Djokovic is going for an eighth title at Melbourne Park and is the clear favourite but he admitted he has focused on recuperation over the past week after an unusually-intense build-up that involved leading Serbia to the inaugural ATP Cup trophy.
He did much right in the night session on Rod Laver Arena and will not be overly concerned about the third set claimed by big-hitting German Struff, with Djokovic responding decisively in a 7-6 (5) 6-2 2-6 6-1 victory.
The second seed said: “I thought I started off well, I was a break up in the first set, he came back. Second set I played really well then he turned it around. Credit to him for fighting, he’s a very powerful player.”
Roger Federer remains cautious about his Melbourne hopes despite a convincing first-round win over Steve Johnson.
The 20-time grand slam champion had not played a competitive match since the ATP Finals in November and spoke ahead of the tournament about his concerns that he might be rusty.
There was little evidence of that as he breezed past American Johnson under the Rod Laver Arena roof, winning 6-3 6-2 6-2 in just an hour and 21 minutes.
Federer struck the ball very well but feels the real test of his form will come when he is put under pressure.
He said: “I just haven’t played proper matches in many, many weeks, and a lot of guys, probably 95% of the guys, are coming here with matches. So I’m not one of those guys. Now I have one. Best of five, too, which is even better.
“So I think for me really the first three rounds are key to get going, to get used to the pressure, or just to stay calm if you’re down a set and a break or whatever it might be.
“This is sort of the unknown that can be a little bit scary at times. But today there was none of that because I broke early each set and was able to get on a roll, play freely after that. And also felt I had margin.
“Anything I was doing I felt like I had the game under control. That might not be the case in the next round, so I just think I have to be careful.”
Last year’s semi-finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas began his campaign in convincing fashion with a 6-0 6-2 6-3 victory over Italian Salvatore Caruso.
The 21-year-old was once again backed by Melbourne’s large Greek community but admitted he has reservations about their noisy support.
“I really like that they come and support me because that gives me a lot of positives in my game,” said Tsitsipas.
“I don’t really know why they want to go the extra mile some of the times.
“I think they should be a little bit more respectful to the opponents. I would describe it as a football field attitude, which doesn’t really belong in tennis.”
The first big shock came with a 6-3 6-7 (7) 6-1 7-6 (3) loss for 13th seed Denis Shapovalov against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
Shapovalov cut a frustrated figure throughout and was furious with umpire Renaud Lichtenstein for giving him a code violation for throwing, but not breaking, his racket.
The young Canadian, who has been tipped to break into the top 10 this season, said: “I think I played really nervous today.
“I was in really good shape, really good conditions going into the tournament. But I just played really tight. It’s a really disappointing one, but there’s nothing to do now except learn from it.”
Eighth seed Matteo Berrettini eased to a 6-3 6-1 6-3 victory over wild card Andrew Harris, while Grigor Dimitrov recovered from a set down to defeat Juan Ignacio Londero.
But 25th seed Borna Coric was a firstround casualty, losing 6-3 6-4 6-4 to American Sam Querrey.