Dan Evans spoke after losing at the Madrid Open to Bernabé Zapata Miralles. Credit: Getty Images/Clive Brunskill
Dan Evans slammed British tennis for its culture of resting before playing by saying the players who do it are the ones who play tournaments every week.
Despite losing to the impressive Bernabé Zapata Miralles in Madrid on Saturday afternoon, Evans is still ranked 24th in the world, which should be high enough to warrant a seeding at both the French Open and Wimbledon.
He also reached 24th place. semi-finals of a recent clay court tournament in Barcelona before losing to modern day player Carlos Alcaraz. Having maintained a top 50 ranking for more than three and a half years, Evans is well positioned to advise the laggard in British tennis.
“I think the players need to compete more every week,” Evans said after the 6-3, 6-2 loss in Madrid. “Players should get out on the road and just chase it. It doesn't look like there's great science behind it. I mean it can be hard on tour, but you have to be on it.
“I'll never say I'm the plan,” Evans added, “but James Ward — when he reached world No. 80 — was playing the Challengers and Futures week after week. Cam [Norrie] learned his craft by playing his matches and being in competitive situations. He's not doing very well on the practice court. He plays in his tournaments, he sticks to his schedule, he never gets hurt – damn it – and the fact that this is not a plan is basically beyond my comprehension.
A tough taskmaster, Evans would never count four players in the top 100 triumph. However, the fact that he, Norrie, Jack Draper and Andy Murray have double-digit ratings is, by historical standards, well above the British average.
Things look bleak on the female side. Emma Raducanou's seven weeks without a win means there will be no Briton in the top 100 in her next WTA round. The last time this was true, you need to go back to May 2008.
“[As a nation] we get to choose which tournaments to play,” Evans said, “and we're in 200th place.” in the world. I'm not going to kill the girls here, but no one has played since [the Billie Jean King Cup in Coventry two weeks ago]. There is something cultural in the holiday and all that. This is not new. Maybe they have too much money or something.”
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