By Chris Burns John Jones
British tennis star Dan Evans will face seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in the second round of the men’s singles competition at SW19 on Thursday afternoon, having clashed in their one and only other meeting to date. Evans cruised through to the second round following an impressive 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 victory over compatriot Jay Clarke, while Djokovic battled past Alexandre Muller in a gruelling four-set encounter in the opening round, which saw him complain about stomach issues. The 35-year-old British star has crossed paths with the Serbian tennis legend just once in his career, as he pulled off a shock 6-4, 7-5 victory at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2021. That meeting sparked a fascinating exchange of comments between the pair, with Evans even describing Djokovic as a source of “annoyance” to him. The Brit also previously challenged the 24-time Grand Slam winner over his comments regarding tournaments staged during the Covid-19 pandemic. Following his hard-earned victory over Djokovic in 2021, Evans revealed the psychological tactics employed by the Serbian whilst explaining how he managed the stunning upset. “He kept me waiting at the start of the match in the changing rooms a little bit,” Evans told Amazon Prime after the victory. “It was a little annoying, so I was ready to go from that – it got me a little extra fired up. He gave away some cheap ones today, which he never normally does. “But I’m just really happy. My game plan was to try to bring him forward and have him hit the ball low in the court.” Evans added: “It was difficult to get to the net and I felt sometimes I was doing too much running. But I also thought I did a good job to get out of my service games. He had so many break points and didn’t take them, so I was a little lucky there.” After his surprising loss, Djokovic described the match as “probably one of the worst matches and performances from my side I can recall in the last years.” However, he did commend Evans, saying the Brit is “a really a nice player to watch”, and acknowledged: “He’s quick around the court. He serves and volleys. He’s got a really all-around game.” Before their encounter at Monte Carlo, Evans had openly disagreed with Djokovic’s concerns about the US Open 2020 safety protocols, which due to the Covid-19 pandemic, limited players to one team member each. Djokovic had labelled the restrictions as “extreme” and felt it would be “really impossible” to compete with such a small support team, whereas Evans had a different point of view. Speaking to BBC 5 Live Breakfast, Evans said at the time: “There has to be a bit of give and take from the players. I don’t think having one person of your team only allowed is such a big deal – the majority of the draw would only travel with one coach. “Not everyone’s travelling with physios and fitness trainers like Novak said, so I think his argument there is not really valid for the rest of the draw, apart from the real top guys.” Currently ranked as world No. 154, Evans is gearing up for what could be one of the biggest matches of his career. After his first-round win over Clarke, he revealed that his father, who usually attends his major matches, was absent due to a pre-arranged golf holiday. “I tend not to bring a lot of people to tournaments,” Evans said. “But this year I’ve decided to have a lot of family and friends here. Well, friends at least – my dad thought a round of golf was more important. “He had a golf trip planned. He said he might leave a day early. But I might not want him to come now.”