Dan Evans left dreading Wimbledon after ’embarrassing’ performance in Queen’s defeat

QUEENS — Dan Evans says he is dreading Wimbledon after an “embarrassing” performance saw him dumped out of Queen’s in the first round.

The British No 2 has now lost six of his last seven matches, a run that stretches back to the clay of Barcelona in April, and revealed ahead of Queen’s that he has parted ways with his coach of two years Sebastian Prieto.

Evans is temporarily working with Matt Reid, formerly of Nick Kyrgios‘s team, and Kieron Vorster, who used to be Tim Henman’s strength and conditioning coach, but they were powerless to help as their new charge served seven double-faults in a 6-4, 7-5 defeat to Sebastian Korda.

And he says even the prospect of a home grand slam a fortnight around the corner is not something he is looking forward to.

“I’m not looking forward to playing any tennis at the minute,” Evans said.

“It’s tough. When your game and you feel no confidence, it’s not a good spot to be in and it’s a difficult spot.

“I’d love to say I’m looking forward to playing my next match but I’m not. That’s the honest truth for you.”

Evans insisted there was no shame in losing to world No 32 Korda, who also beat him at Wimbledon two years ago, but did say he expected more from himself on court.

“What I pride myself on is being tough to beat, and I wasn’t tough to beat,” Evans added.

“I have to compete hard, a bit harder than I did today, and be better mentally. But it’s becoming difficult to do that with the amount of losses.

“It’s frustrating and also a little bit embarrassing. So there’s a lot of emotion in that. It’s hard to see what I can do next.”

Evans is not scheduled to play again before Wimbledon, which starts on 3 July, but there is one more ATP tournament in the UK – a 250-level event in Eastbourne next week – which could offer a wildcard and the chance to regain some form.

However, the 33-year-old says he would rather stick to his original plan, spending the next two weeks preparing for Wimbledon in London.

“I have got good people to support me, who will work hard for me,” Evans added.

“That’s important at times like this, and we just spoke and I think we’re all on the same [page].”

He also said: “The hard thing is I’m playing good in practice. I have played very well all year. I just haven’t been able to put that game onto the match courts.

“I’m just not getting through the matches which I’d expect to get through.

“At 5-5 today, you know, it reared its head again where I didn’t serve well, got broke easy, and they are the moments you need to be tough in, and you can only get that on the match court.

“That’s where you get your confidence from. Beating players in practice isn’t the answer to getting the wins on the tour.”