Bad Boy Gone Good: Dan Evans’ rise will not end here

Dan Evans’ remarks in the wake of his win over top seed Dominic Thiem in Sydney earlier in January would have sounded far more credible had it been a one-off.

But his self-deprecating remarks failed to capture the truth: he has become a major force on the men’s tour – exemplified by his dismantling of seventh seed Marin Cilic at the Australian Open.

The world number 51 looked at ease against the Croat, nullifying the serve that carried his opponent to the 2014 US Open crown and expertly mixing up his game. It’s true that the majority of his points came from unforced errors off the Cilic racquet, 69 in total, but this wasn’t Evans aimlessly hitting the ball back and awaiting mistakes.

While his rival struggled to find rhythm in cold conditions, Evans consistently fended off danger and kept his opponent guessing. Ten times Cilic mustered a break point in the decisive fourth set; only once was the Evans serve breached. In total, Evans saved 16 of 19 break points – each one greeted by a fist-clench and a roar.

He may have been unconvinced by his attributes in Sydney, but surely now he believes he can trouble the best in Melbourne after his four-set triumph. Not bad for a player who clobbered together some mismatched kit, purchased by himself, after being dropped by sponsors Nike for 2017.

"It was a relief obviously," he said. "Obviously getting across the line against him. In the (best of) five sets... is a big thing for me to sort of last. It was great to win. Just great to win."

Evans’ career looked set to be defined by his unmemorable casting as an extra in Great Britain’s Davis Cup triumph in 2015. He played just one five-set rubber, a defeat to Bernard Tomic in the semi-finals, in GB’s (read: the Murray brothers’) march to ending 79 years of hurt.

Now he’s starting to make his own headlines – and could make another if he avenges that defeat to Tomic in Glasgow, with the Aussie his next opponent in Melbourne. With a huge five-set win under his belt, he has nothing to fear against the 27th seed, who will carry the hopes of a nation after Nick Kyrgios’ unexpected early exit on Wednesday.

The ‘bad boy’ of British tennis has come a long way. Injuries and motivation lapses saw him languish at 772 in the world less than two years ago. Few backed him to return. There were always glimmers of an immense future – he ousted Kei Nishikori and Tomic to reach the US Open third round in 2013 – but ultimately his was a story of squandered talent.

That’s firmly in the past.

He built on a fine grass court season, where he reached the third round of Wimbledon, by coming within a point of knocking Stan Wawrinka at the US Open – the closest anyone came to troubling the Swiss as he claimed a third Grand Slam title. Now he’s proved he can get across the finish line at Majors.

"Last week was (in best of) three (sets)... against Thiem," said Evans.

Evans is finally establishing himself on the big stage. A climb towards the top 30 beckons and it’s no longer a case of what might have been.

And with Cilic axed from his portion of the draw, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that he could set-up a quarter-final with Wawrinka later in the tournament – a chance for retribution after his near-miss last September.