‘Panicked’ Dan Evans blown away by fast-improving Felix Auger-Aliassime

Over the last few years, the very best he has ever produced in his career, Dan Evans has grown accustomed to the sensation of being the last British man standing in any given tournament. Plenty of times he has soared, but on Friday evening his game crumbled before the John Cain Arena crowd.

Evans’ Australian Open ended in brutal fashion at the hands of an efficient and mature Felix Auger-Aliassime. The ninth seed withstood early pressure from Evans and then picked him apart by the end, winning 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the fourth round at the tournament for the first time.

Afterwards, Evans noted the quality of Auger-Aliassime’s play but he was, as ever, honest in his assessment of his performance. “I panicked on the court,” Evans said. “It was total. I missed my chance and I panicked a bit and that happens in tennis. I’m not going to sit here and say he was too good. I panicked and I felt that.”

There was reason for Evans to believe that he could engineer a better ending. He has started the year strongly, winning his first five matches across the ATP Cup and a Sydney semi-final run. When he and Auger-Aliassime met in the final of the Murray River Open played at Melbourne Park last year, Evans steamrolled Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-3.

After his easy first-round win over David Goffin, Evans’ second-round opponent, Arthur Rinderknech, withdrew on the morning of their match. Evans initially thought it was a great slice of luck but the break to his rhythm ultimately worked against him, robbing him of his rhythm and leaving him with extra time to overthink his third-round match. He had never experienced this situation in a major.

“I’m not making excuses but it wasn’t easy to have a walkover and I sort of lost my momentum a little