British No 2 Dan Evans crashes OUT of the Australian Open in straight sets, as Russian World No 6 Andrey Rublev soars into the fourth round in Melbourne after a dominant victory
Dan Evans shared his on court tuck box with world No 6 Andrey Rublev, who by way of thanks promptly knocked him out of the Australian Open in straight sets.
In the first set of a 6-4 6-2 6-3 defeat Evans lobbed the Russian one of his bananas during the changeover after Rublev found himself without his preferred energy food.
The act of generosity came after the favourite had held off a break point. From there onwards he bludgeoned the British No 2 into submission.
Andrey Rublev surged into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a straight sets victory
‘He helped me with some energy for sure. I won an extra two games because I ate a banana,” said a smiling Rublev later, having earned a fourth round against the outstanding Danish teenager Holger Rune.
‘I quite like him, so I shared with him. They only brought two out, so I donated one,’ said Evans, whose hand skills were ultimately not enough to defuse the explosive power of his opponent.
He had started off brightly, but Rublev would have had to blow up in the face of his delicate slices to make it a close contest.
British No 2 struggled to keep up with his opponent who put in a very impressive showing
The 32 year-old Midlander was left contemplating how to tackle the nightmare journey to the contrasting venue of Bogota in Colombia, where Britain play their Davis Cup qualifying round later next week.
Evans is likely to make the approximate 30-hour journey direct from Australia to one of the highest places where professional tennis is played, at the lofty ski resort height of 2,500 metres. The surface will be clay and the balls pressureless.
‘I’m awful on Skyscanner, but I did look a while ago when I was making decisions,’ said Evans. ‘I won’t be going home. It’s just too much.
Rublev celebrates reaching the final 16 at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park
Rublev and Evans shake hands at the net after the contest that was won comfortably by the Russian in the end
‘I’ve played in altitude in Guadalajara (Mexico) and I was rubbish. Then I asked somebody, “Is this similar? And they were like, ‘No, that’s hardly anything compared to there (Bogota).” So, I mean, God knows. It’s an experience, I guess.
‘I think it’s important that the best players can get out there and represent your country but it’s the worst possible draw. It’s miles away and all of their team are pretty good in those conditions.’
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