Even on days when he performs well and moves through the rounds with ease, drama often seems to follow Dan Evans. On Thursday, Evans played an excellent match to defeat Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 and reach the third round of the Australian Open, but the match was overshadowed by a contentious incident early in the first set.
After an intense and well contested start from both, Chardy was trailing by a break point on his serve at 3-3 when a ball dropped out of his pocket in the middle of the point. The umpire, Miriam Bley of Germany, did not initially react to the ball and the point continued for three more shots until Chardy missed a forehand.
Bley eventually called “let” a split second after Chardy netted his forehand, but the point was over and it was therefore awarded to Evans. Chardy furiously argued for the point to be replayed, as often happens on the first occasion that a ball falls out of a player’s pocket, for 10 minutes. After seeking out the supervisor, who refused to contest the umpire’s decision, Chardy requested the removal of Bley because he “doesn’t trust her at all”.
After the match, Chardy smiled as he explained his frustration. “I was angry because she should stop straightaway,” he said. “And she says she didn’t even see the ball. I don’t know what she’s doing because she doesn’t call in or out. She just called the score, and if she doesn’t watch the point, I don’t know why she’s on the chair. That’s it.
“So I was pissed, and I was even more pissed when she didn’t tell me she made the mistake.”
As the argument unfolded, Evans sat quietly in his chair and stared blankly ahead. “The only part I wanted to clear up was, I was just simply asking the umpire why it was a let. I didn’t see any of what happened, because obviously the play was all in the other corner,” said Evans. “I think it went on a bit too long, and it got cleared up, and then did a good job of holding.”
Evans’ interjection may have been important. While umpires often call a let and replay the point when a ball falls out of a player’s pocket, they only do so on the basis that the opposing player could have been hindered by the errant ball. A player cannot hinder their own play. Bley could have only replayed the point if she decided that the ball was hindering Evans.
For Chardy, who is on the comeback trail after undergoing knee surgery and being told by his doctors that he had only a 60% chance of returning to tennis, merely competing at the Australian Open and winning a round was a joyful experience. During his time off, the 35-year-old began to coach the young Frenchman Ugo Humbert, a former No 25, meaning he currently commands a rare role in tennis – player-coach.
“When he loses and I lose, it’s tough,” said Chardy, laughing. “He won yesterday, so it give me happiness. I hope he will win today like this and my day is a good day.”
Evans will next take his good form to battle with Andrey Rublev, the fifth seed, who moved into the third round with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3 win over Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori. Evans and Rublev have enjoyed many difficult battles over the years, with their head-to-head tied at 3-3, but Saturday will mark their first meeting at a grand slam tournament.
Elsewhere, Casper Ruud, the second seed and finalist at both French Open and US Open last year, was defeated 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-2 by Jenson Brooksby of the United States in a dramatic, exhausting four set battle.
In his short time on the tour, Brooksby has built a reputation as an irritant on the court, frustrating and forcing errors out of opponents with his intelligence and nous. After falling down 5-3 in the third set, though, Ruud pulled together a dramatic last stand, saving three match points and forcing a fourth set before the 22-year-old recovered to seal the first top 10 grand slam win of his career.
After Rafael Nadal’s defeat on Wednesday, this year’s Australian Open marks the first time since 2002 that the top two seeds have been knocked out of the men’s draw, when Lleyton Hewitt and Gustavo Kuerten were both defeated in the first.
On Thursday, Nadal was diagnosed with a grade two injury to the iliopsoas in his hip following the injury he suffered in his second round loss to Mackenzie McDonald. Nadal, who underwent an MRI in Melbourne, will be out for six to eight weeks, leaving him doubtful for Indian Wells and Miami before the clay season begins.