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ATP CUP

January 5, 2020

Daniel Evans

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

D. EVANS/D. Goffin

6-4, 6-4

Team Great Britain - 1

Team Belgium - 1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Well done, Dan. On paper, that's in your top five wins of your career. Does it feel or did it feel like that?
DANIEL EVANS: Yeah, I felt the level was good out there, I'd say one of the highest levels I played. It felt that way, and obviously it made it pretty sweet to have everyone there behind.

And in this new format, I think it's a pretty good way to play having the seats behind in the corners. It's pretty cool. Yeah, it definitely helped to get me through the match.

Q. How aware were you of that kind of last-ditch nature of the match? Does it make it any different when you're going into it? Does it feel any different?
DANIEL EVANS: No, if I think about it too hard, I'm not going to get anywhere. I mean, the first match was quick, wasn't it? And, you know, I never thought about it on the court, never thought about it anything apart from the next point and just keep going.

That's been our sort of task throughout all the matches was the next point, and I thought we stuck to it pretty well, and it actually came back to serve me good at the end when, you know, I was 40-15 up, came back, break point down, next point, and it helped me get through that match.

Q. Can I just ask whether you've enjoyed working with Tim for the first time? And what does he maybe do differently from, say, Leon, for example?
DANIEL EVANS: No, I mean, it's tough to compare. I think that would be unfair to compare. It's been great to work with Tim. It's a new event. It's very different to Davis Cup.

Obviously the format is pretty similar, but it's ATP rules, especially with the doubles and stuff. You know, as we've said, we're on the court. So, you know, that's a lot different, as well.

Tim's been great from since when he landed, he jumped right in at the deep end, was on court, hasn't missed a session, hasn't missed a beat. We have been dinner every night. We're a team, and we have treated it that way. No one has been missing anything, and it's been great.

Q. Do you think there is a place for both, Dan, Davis Cup and this new competition, given that they're six weeks apart?
DANIEL EVANS: Do you think I have thought about that? I mean, come on (smiling). I don't know.

Listen, this tournament has been great. I've enjoyed it. We had a tough day the other day. Again, I think it would be unfair to give those sort of reasons. I don't have any opinion on it, if I'm being brutally honest, yeah.

Q. You seemed to be having quite a lot of jokes with Tim sort of at the changeovers and pep talks. Is that a deliberate thing, or is it just because you find him funny or he finds you funny?
DANIEL EVANS: No, he probably finds me very different to how he was. No, it's been good.

Like I just said, everyone has got on great, and one of the things I was skeptical about was if it would feel like a team event, because it's sort of -- it's an ATP event, and, you know, you're playing points. It was a little different, but we have made it pretty -- you know, we have a team room. It's been great.

So we have made it a real team atmosphere, and it's definitely been a good week regardless of what happens. If we don't go through or we do go through, it's been an amazing experience and I'd love to come back.

Q. Was it difficult to get everything back together after being out here till 4:00 or whatever, 3:30 on the first night?
DANIEL EVANS: No. Everyone slept in late, and then, you know, we actually all ate breakfast together pretty late, breakfast/lunch. And we come over and practiced in the afternoon.

You know, we took the loss on the chin. It was tough, and then we came back again today and tried to give it our best.

Q. You were talking a few times about how much you enjoyed being in the corner with the guys. Is it just enjoying having them there to be with them during the changeover? Is it because you like talking about having them there to help you relax? What is it about the team zone?
DANIEL EVANS: No, I think it's interesting to -- I mean, for instance, if I'm on there, I'm thinking about the match, everybody is thinking about the match. They're watching. So I think it's good that we can all have a word with each other or ask, you know, What do you think about this?

And then obviously they're there screaming, shouting, whatever you want to call it. But they're only there to help you, and I think it's great incentive that your team are there, that everyone gets something if we're winning.

So I think it's a great incentive, and, you know, even if you're not playing, the team are getting rewarded. You know, sometimes at Davis Cup that's not the case. So I think it's great that everybody is out there shouting and getting pumped to win.

Q. You mentioned the team room. Did you go to the strategy room at all or use any of those things?
DANIEL EVANS: Yeah. Me, personally, I haven't been in the strategy room, but my coach has and Tim has.

Yeah, it's been helpful. We've used it, and it's definitely a great help to have that there. I'm not a massive fan of taking stats, but little snippets are great. But the doubles guys are big fans of it. We have definitely used it. Yeah, it's working well at the minute.

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