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WIMBLEDONJune 23, 2014Daniel EvansLONDON, ENGLAND A. KUZNETSOV/D. Evans THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Are you kicking yourself after that? So many chances in the fourth set. DAN EVANS: Yeah, it was tough match. Didn't really have chances. Had a few half chances and didn't take them. Yeah, it was an annoying match. Pretty annoyed. Sort of match I should really win, I think. Yeah. Q. Was he an annoying opponent? DAN EVANS: No, he just came out of the blocks flying. Before I knew it, I was 6‑1, 2‑Love down, I think, and then got back into the match. Played a bad game at 6‑5, and then ‑‑ got to stick with the guy. That's my first thought, just stay with him and I didn't. Let him get ahead. Q. Are you relatively pleased that you figured him out as the match went on though, didn't you? DAN EVANS: No, not really. Not pleased at all. I didn't figure him out because he beat me. Q. Is that the frustrating thing, that you did get yourself back into the match and couldn't win the fourth set? DAN EVANS: Yeah, that's the thing. Won the third set and then so many chances ‑‑ you know, a chance to get chances, and then didn't take them. That's the annoying thing. Q. Any positives you take from this? DAN EVANS: I fought hard. Yeah, fought hard. That's about it. Q. Margins were very fine though, weren't they? You weren't appreciably worse than him as a player technically. There was nothing to chose between you really, was there? DAN EVANS: No, just the scoreline and the sets. Q. Did you expect more from yourself over the grass court season? DAN EVANS: I mean, I had some pretty tough matches. Yeah, I suppose I did, but, I mean, a lot of it\ coming into these sort of tournaments is sort of who you play and, you know, grass can be a bit of a lottery as well. He obviously likes the grass. He returned well. Difficult opponent really. It was a tough match. Q. Has it been a frustrating few months for you, though? DAN EVANS: Yeah, I haven't won many matches. Yeah, a little bit. I mean, I've been injured and stuff. Yeah, but it's time to stay on track now and go again. Q. What will you do from here? DAN EVANS: I don't know actually. I haven't looked. Yeah, just see the schedule. Might take a bit of a time out. My knee is pretty sore. I need to speak to a few people and see what I do. Q. What's the problem with your knee? DAN EVANS: I don't really‑‑ well, I do know. It's my patella tendon is not doing great. Q. Is it something that will get better with rest or might you need to have surgery? DAN EVANS: Ideally rest, but obviously the tennis calendar doesn't give you a lot of that. Q. Would you have to make that decision to take a bit of time out? DAN EVANS: Yeah, but obviously coming up got some pretty hefty points coming in. Need to play the tournaments. Q. So that's very much on your mind, all the points? DAN EVANS: No, the points, if I lose the points I lose them. When I went to America last year I only played three tournaments. I want to go for a lot of tournaments ideally, and then go into the US Open. Q. Even if it might make your knee worse? DAN EVANS: That's what I'm hoping, that it won't make my knee worse. Hoping to sort it out. Q. Do you stand by what you said at Queen's about Bedene qualifying to play for Great Britain and potentially, I suppose, taking your Davis Cup spot? Perhaps not the ideal time to discuss it, but it's an interesting... DAN EVANS: Yeah, it's interesting. Q. It's interesting for those looking for who is going to back up Andy Murray, should we say, among the Brits in the rankings. DAN EVANS: To be honest, I don't think they need to look anywhere else. Me and Wardy have done pretty decent backing him up in Davis Cup. I guess you're talking about Davis Cup. Yeah, I don't know. It's one of those things. I've said it quite a bit at Queen's. Nothing against him, it's just ‑‑ he's a nice chap. It's just not what I would do. Yeah, but a lot of people do change nationalities. But it's just a bit different that he's played for another country. So I think the only thing I don't get, if you've played for another country in football, unless it's under 21 level, you can't switch. So it's a bit strange. Q. You and James have fought tenaciously to get as far as you have, haven't you? DAN EVANS: Yeah, it's not really about who is ‑‑ it's just I don't think it's right. That's it. It's nothing to do with if we haven't won a match, I don't think he should still play. That's just my view on it. Like I say, it's nothing against him. Be a bit strange, wouldn't it? I mean, it's pretty clear he doesn't speak in an English accent. Yeah. Q. Four British men losing today, again there is going to be an element of focus on whether or not they're too easily handed wildcards. What would you say to that? DAN EVANS: Is there going to be a bit of a‑‑ I don't know, is there? Q. You would assume so. DAN EVANS: Look, it's the draws are pretty tough, I would say. Wardy plays Youzhny; likes grass. I probably had the best draw. Or Kyle. Kyle is young. Smetty has Isner tomorrow. Just the way it works, isn't it? It's all rankings, isn't it? I don't know what people expect. I mean, yeah. Be interesting to read the papers tomorrow. It's not like people‑‑ I didn't see Kyle's match, but I saw Wardy's. Wasn't like he wasn't trying. Just got outclassed. And I lost to... yeah, probably be me who gets the abuse tomorrow because he's quite close to my ranking. Q. Does that bother you then? DAN EVANS: No. Q. What do you tell yourself when there is negativity around? DAN EVANS: Well, I mean, I tried 100% today. Did everything I could do. He was just better than me. I mean, I think all the people who got the wildcards deserve wildcards, to be honest. Yeah. I mean, Coxy took a set off a guy pretty good on the grass. Yeah. Q. Do you feel, Dan, having done well in Zagreb and Marseilles‑‑ and obviously having those points on from last August and September‑‑ do you feel like you've had a window of opportunity and that's kind of shut on you a bit now? DAN EVANS: Yeah. I mean, yeah. But there is always‑‑ like I didn't really play after Wimbledon last year. After quallies I didn't really play much either. So got still a decent window to try and get some points. That isn't the main focus for me right now. Kills me that I lost today mostly. I mean, yeah. That's it. That one hurt a bit. Yeah. Q. These sort of loses, do they fire you up? DAN EVANS: Not right now. I mean... Q. Or is it hard to get over? DAN EVANS: Yeah, just poor start to the match. Then, yeah, I had visions of the day going better than that. Differently. Q. In the long run, Dan, is top 100, top 75 realistic goals for you? DAN EVANS: Yeah, I mean, obviously right now the points and stuff, it's tough to get them. But you only need a few weeks, a good run. I mean, saw that happen, that I gathered more points last year in America. Yeah, I'm playing well. I'm in a good place. That's one good thing. Not like I'm playing terrible and was nowhere near. I'm there or thereabouts. Q. Is it hard when you have been quite close to the top 100 for a few months but you're just not making it? DAN EVANS: I haven't been that close really. It's been‑‑ well, yeah, haven't been like 105. Been pretty much... Q. Sort of 120? DAN EVANS: Yeah, not that close. Just been trying to, in each tournament I play, get through. Obviously haven't done that. Today would've helped. Q. In this environment, I remember about four years ago you said‑ I think; I don't want to put words in your mouth ‑ but you said, If I haven't made the top 100 by 24, 25, I'm going to start looking for something else to do. Do you still think that way? DAN EVANS: I said that if I wasn't there or thereabouts. If I was knocking like 280, that sort of ranking, I wouldn't carry on. I'm beating some good players along the way. I'm there or thereabouts, I think. My level is there or thereabouts, I think. So you know, still improvements to be made. I've got a decent chance still. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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