Brit’s generous offer of sharing a banana BACKFIRES as the energy-filled snack powers his opponent Andrey Rublev into Australian Open round of 16
- Rublev surged into round four of the grand slam by beating Britain’s Dan Evans
- It was a dominant, straight sets performance from the Russian to win the match
- However the big talking point was Evans sharing his bananas with his opponent
- In a moment of great sportsmanship, he helped Rublev despite the score
There are acts of tennis sportsmanship, but this touching moment between rivals at the Australian Open really takes the … banana?
British professional Dan Evans may have lost his third round match against Russian Andrey Rublev at Melbourne Park, but he won a swathe of new admirers for his generosity and sportsmanship.
Rublev won in straight sets, but it was the moment he couldn’t find his mid-match snack that really stole the show.
Evans kind offer of a banana during the second set may have been his undoing, with his opponent finding the energy to close the match out in straight sets
Despite what was on the line, Evans kindly offered his opponent a banana out of his own supply, helping power Rublev home to a dominant win.
Rublev gave up a miserly nine games in his straight-sets win, the Russian delivering a ruthless 6-4 6-2 6-3 victory that left world No.30 Evans scratching for answers.
The 25-year-old will face the winner of the clash between Danish ninth seed Holger Rune and Frenchman Ugo Humbert for a place in the quarter-finals.
‘I asked the ball boy for a banana but Danny asked for bananas earlier and he had two so he threw me one,’ a smiling Rublev said.
‘He helped me with some energy for sure – I win an extra two games because I eat the banana.’
While the generous act from Evans might have backfired on him, it won the hearts of tennis fans around the world.
Rublev celebrates reaching the final 16 at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in a dominant straight sets victory
Rublev and Evans shake hands at the net after the contest that was won comfortably by the Russian in the end
‘Is this what sports should be? This is awesome! Love it,’ posted one fan.
‘It brings the whole thing back from its strict professionalism focused atmosphere to how it’s just normal human stuff for these guys too,’ posted another.
‘Now there’s some footage for any ad agency to promote the Aussie banana,’ added another.
Balancing touch and finesse with some power hitting, Rublev hit 60 winners to 20 from Evans in the clinical two-hour, nine-minute performance that also included 10 aces.
He is looking to eclipse his previous best Open run – reaching the quarter-finals in 2021 – while he has never gone further than the last eight at any major.
Evans toiled in the match, but could hit only 20 winners in comparison to his opponent’s 60 which made it hard for him to get into the match
The opponents took the time to have a friendly word after the match, that showed sportsmanship is well and truly alive at the Australian Open
Rublev was satisfied with his showing and felt his confidence was growing with each match.
He came into the Open in questionable form after losing both matches he played in the two Adelaide tournaments, losing to home hope Thanasi Kokkinakis and Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.
‘Every match I’m playing better and better and I’m really happy because at the beginning of the season I lost a couple of tough matches against great players,’ Rublev said.
‘I lost a bit of confidence and I’m happy that since the first match here I’m playing really good tennis and I’m improving.
‘After the first set I felt confidence and that I can play better and play faster and add one more speed and as soon as I did it I started to feel even better and I feel he’s not comfortable.
‘I tried to play even more aggressive and at the end played really good tennis.’
Strangely enough, this is not the first time a tennis player has graciously shared their bananas with an opponent.
At the 2021 Wimbledon championships, Polish player Hubert Hurkacz extended the same grace to Russian-born Kazakhstani player Alexander Bublik.
On that occasion the banana gift was not enough for Bublik, with Hurkacz going on to win in straight sets.
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