REFORMED EVANS HITS A NEW HIGH IN SYDNEY

TIME was when Dan Evans’s late arrival at a tournament may have meant that he was somehow up to no good. But the reformed British No 3 will be one of the last arrivals ahead of the Australian Open after reaching today’s final of the Sydney International, where he will face big-serving Gilles Muller. After Andy Murray was handed a draw in Melbourne that could see him face Roger Federer in the last eight, Evans reached his first ATP Tour final by beating world No 48 Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. It was a testament to the work he has put in that he looked the fresher of the two players in the deciding set. Evans (below) drew Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis in the Australian Open first round and regardless of today’s final, should be brimming with confidence after four wins this week. Jamie Murray was earlier today contesting the doubles final. For the first time Andy Murray’s name had appeared at the top of a Grand Slam draw as No 1 seed. He will start on Monday with a gentle enough introduction against Ukraine’s world No 93 Illya Marchenko. Murray’s first scheduled seeded opponent is American Sam Querrey but his path is fairly clear to the last eight, where he is likely to meet Federer, seeded at 17, or world No 5 Kei Nishikori. His theoretical semi-final opponent is Stan Wawrinka, although the US Open champion is set for a huge fourth-round clash against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios. As Murray knows, there is no such thing as a guaranteed path. ‘I’ve had tough draws,’ he said. ‘This one could be really hard. But draws can open up. The year I first won Wimbledon was a perfect example, when I had Roger and Rafa (Nadal) potentially in the quarter-finals.’ Novak Djokovic left his arrival late, going back to his home in Monte Carlo for 48 hours after the Qatar Open final last week. He faces Fernando Verdasco in the first round, who choked five match points against him in the Qatar semi-finals.