TENNIS: DAN EVANS HAS BEEN ELIMINATED BY MIKEL YMER AT THE FRENCH OPEN SECOND ROUND
The British number 2 lost in four sets to Mikael Ymer; Cameron Norrie is now the last British man remaining in the main draw; Daniil Medvedev progresses through to the third round; Casper Ruud’s straight-sets win means he advances in the draw too.
Evans lost 3-6 6-3 2-6 3-6 to Mikael Ymer and as the match progressed, he struggled physically.
Evans’ departure from the men’s singles main draw means No 1 Cameron Norrie is the only remaining British interest.
Norrie warmed up for the French Open by winning the Lyon Open title. He is the 10th seed at Roland Garros and has not dropped a set during the first two rounds.
Norrie takes on Karen Khachanov, who is the 21st seed, on Friday and their contest is the fourth match on Court Simonne-Mathieu.
Evans’ conqueror Ymer will play Stefanos Tsitsipas next.
Tsitsipas – beaten by Novak Djokovic in last year’s final – advanced with a marathon four-set victory over Zdenek Kolar, winning 6-3 7-6 6-7-7-6 in over four hours after rallying from four set points down in the fourth set.
Evans: I was physically spent
Evans found himself a break down after a slow start and was a set behind following a 14-minute ninth game in which he saved five set points, and squandered two break points, before eventually succumbing.
But the fist pumps were out 43 minutes later when the Brit forced two set points on his own serve and levelled the match after Ymer netted a backhand.
An immediate break in the third seemed to have maintained Evans’ momentum, but a rapid response from Ymer saw him reel off six games in a row to move 2-1 ahead.
Evans had the doctor on court between sets, but re-emerged to break again at the start of the fourth. However, he wilted again as Ymer got stronger and secured victory in three-hours and 22-minutes.
Evans was booed by the crowd after swatting a service return into the net to lose the match but said: “I couldn’t care less. I gave away the last point, but I couldn’t care less, to be honest with you.
“I think I’d put enough effort in for three-and-a-half hours. I was physically spent. That was it for me. It’s frustrating and it’s upsetting, don’t get me wrong, but that’s the way it goes.
“I’ve been struggling with the chest infection. It’s not ideal really. Normal symptoms, sweating a lot in the night, bad sleep. It probably took a lot out of me. It’s not an excuse. I was in some good situations, but physically I wasn’t spot on.”
