Evans suffers ‘shocking’ French Open first round defeat against Kokkinakis

Dan Evans said he will have ample soul-searching to do after his hopes of a positive French Open ended with a dispiriting 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round.

“I said the other day there’s some soul-searching,” said Evans, the 20th seed, referencing his recent criticism of British tennis. “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.”

Evans’s clay-court season had started positively, with the 33‑year‑old beating top opposition in Karen Khachanov and Francisco Cerundolo to reach an ATP 500 semi-final in Barcelona. Since then, however, he has reverted to his poor form throughout this season, losing his past four matches.

Evans said he feels great on the practice court, but he is struggling badly in competition. During the match, a questionable foot fault from the centre line was enough to completely disrupt his form and confidence.

“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.”

Since breaking into the top 30 just before the Covid hiatus in 2020, Evans has remained within and around the top 30 for over three years, a strong achievement for a player who had previously spent his career outside of the top 100.

However,