By Tony Fairbairn
- Thanasi Kokkinakis [WC] def Dan Evans [20] 6-4 6-4 6-4
PARIS, FRANCE – Dan Evans has admitted that ‘soul-searching’ is needed ahead of the grass court season after a straight sets defeat to Thanasi Kokkinakis at Roland Garros.
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Thanasi Kokkinakis [WC] def Dan Evans [20] 6-4 6-4 6-4
Dan Evans’ record at Roland Garros is now at 1-7 after a straight sets defeat to Thanasi Kokkinakis saw him suffer a sixth first round exit in Paris. The start of the match saw both players gain confidence on serve with Evans producing some effective serving and early forehand winners. Evans used his slice in the early stages to attempt to disrupt the power and precision of Kokkinakis but to minimum success as the Australian was equally as efficient on his own serve.
As the set went on, Kokkinakis grew into the match on return as he mixed up his returns which resulted in putting pressure on Evans. The 20th seed was starting to crumble as he rushed into his shots, making a flurry of unforced errors. In the fifth game, Evans passed his first test on serve as he saved four break points and grinded out the hold of serve for a 3-2 lead.
That service hold only delayed the inevitable though as Kokkinakis took advantage of some missed first serves to seal the first break of the match to take a 4-3 lead. The Australian was equally as impressive on serve holding with relative ease as the Australian continued to be consistently aggressive from the baseline. Despite a late show of resilience from Evans, another crushing forehand from Kokkinakis sealed the opening set 6-4 with the Brit left with work to do.
After leaving the court to recompose himself, Evans came back mentally fresher as he found his confidence in his game again. The Brit became more aggressive finding the angles from the backhand side and serving effectively well with Kokkinakis unable to find a response. Evans only lost one point in the opening three games and continued his momentum in the following two games, taking a 4-1 lead.
However in typical Evans fashion, the Brit would soon lose the lead and his lose his cool as he lost his concentration over a foot fault that was called. Evans became slowly annoyed by the umpire as well as with Kokkinakis’ coach who was talking loudly as the Brit lost the momentum and the second set. The Australian’s consistent power was too much for Evans who couldn’t convert his chances as Kokkinakis sealed five games in a row to take a two set to love lead.
The start of the third set was comfortable for both players as Evans looked to regain some momentum back in his favour. Once again though, Evans committed more and more unforced errors as the set went on which allowed Kokkinakis to become more confident in his hitting.
Kokkinakis punished Evans’ drop-off in level as he broke for a 3-2 lead but the advantage didn’t last long as the Brit continued to grind from the baseline and worked hard to force Kokkinakis into some errors. This time it was Kokkinakis who made the costly mistake as a double fault gave the break back to Evans in the eighth game with the third set level at 4-4.
However, Evans’ resilience didn’t last long as he easily conceded the last two games with Kokkinakis closing out the win comfortably to seal his place in the second round.
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Evans looking to soul-search before Wimbledon
A sixth first round exit at Roland Garros means Evans’ clay court season is over as he turns to the grass court season.
Speaking after his defeat the Brit spoke about how ‘disappointing’ the loss to Kokkinakis was and admitted that some soul-searching is needed before Wimbledon.
“I said the other day there’s some soul-searching,” Evans told The Guardian.
“There will be plenty of that tonight. Got to get on and try and get my game in a good spot. It’s shocking right now how I played today. It’s disappointing. I thought [I was] in a good spot coming in, but I felt like that the whole time. It’s not good enough.
“You play well in practice, and then you get on the court, and that’s a bit worrying. There’s not much else I can really do. I’m working really well in practice. I’m doing the stuff I need to do, and then comes to match day, and I’ve been, again, apart from one tournament, pretty average this year. I’m not sure what else to try. Believe me, I’ve tried quite a lot this year, and it’s getting the same answer a lot.”
Evans also spoke about his ranking which is currently at number 30 and said that it’s frustrating that he can’t seem to improve it at the moment.
“It’s just frustrating that I’ve been there so long and then not to be able to get inside [the top 20] becomes frustrating,” Evans added.
“Not winning the slightly bigger matches. At the minute it’s more frustration than knowing what I can do to get there. I’m trying to do what I think is right to get there, but it’s obviously not paying off. It’s just hard. It’s a hard sport. That’s the bottom line.”
The Brit will look to improve his ranking over the grass court season as he will take a short break before warming up for Wimbledon.
Wimbledon starts on the 2 July 2023.
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