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ATP CUP

January 7, 2020

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

D. EVANS/R. Albot

6-2, 6-2

Team Great Britain - 2

Team Moldova - 0

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You were saying courtside that in some ways Cam took the pressure off you by keeping Great Britain in the tie. But then you still had to win it to do the same thing, didn't you? There must have been a fair amount of...
DANIEL EVANS: Yeah, well, he made the match a little easier that it was still live. That's what I meant by it would have been difficult if he went down and then we were losing to stay in the tournament.

But obviously there was still a bit of pressure out there, but I thought I played pretty good, and hopefully the boys get it done.

Q. Obviously we're kind of sort of relying on winning the doubles next to have a chance of qualifying, but just in general today, has it felt a bit more calmer than the previous two ties, sitting courtside?
TIM HENMAN: No, they have all been the same, because we have prepared very well and the boys have played well. So I think when you look at all these different scenarios and you're talking about a match that is played before Evo, the most important thing is and the message is you control the controllables, and that is all about the next point.

Certainly that's what Dan has done exceptionally well in all three matches. Against Goffin, who is a world-class player, he did that brilliantly.

My question to him today was, you know, Can you go out there and back it up? He's done exactly that. I mean, this is a guy that beat him in a tour final last year. He's a proper player. And Dan's dismantled him.

Likewise for Cam, looking for a reaction, he was disappointed with his performance against Darcis, but you get another opportunity.

The way that he's come out and delivered is fantastic, and, you know, we've got another match to play. Who knows what will happen? The boys will go out there and give it their best shot.

Q. Looks like you have a lot of fun in that team zone, as well, just sitting in that corner. The banter sounds lighthearted even though that's serious?
TIM HENMAN: It's not lighthearted once the point starts. You know, concentration is something that you can't switch on for five hours. There are moments when you can switch off.

So the challenge is, and you probably heard me say it enough time, it's point after point. They have done it exceptionally well, and when you see Dan's level like this, his challenge is to do it day in, day out, week in, week out.

If he does that, he's going to beat a lot of good players and his ranking is going to move in the right direction.

Q. How do you find it, Dan, the support you get from the team? They are very close to you as opposed to on tour where you don't have that at all.
DANIEL EVANS: No, I mean, it's enjoyable to have the guys on the side, but, you know, as Tim said, it's, you know, sort of to come out every point, point in, point out, has really helped. Not just me. I think everyone is sort of focused a little better than, as you say on tour, you sometimes forget to give yourself that, and you can wander and stuff.

So I don't think it's an accident that I have been playing good, focusing on that. I'll definitely use that for when I'm carrying on during the year.

Q. Coming into this event, Dan, did you see it as a good opportunity to sort of boost your ranking? The points seem fairly generous.
DANIEL EVANS: Yeah, I mean, I come into it thinking I had some tough matches but I'd walk away feeling pretty good. You know, to play those level of matches start of the year, it was a great opportunity.

But, you know, at the end of the day we are all competitive. We want to get through to the quarters, so that was the goal. I mean, it was to get through. So that hasn't changed. Hopefully the guys can go out and get the win and a few things go our way.

TIM HENMAN: There are always these byproducts, and again, you come back to the performance. Whether it's ranking points or prize money or the kudos of winning an event, that's the outcome, and the focus has to be on the process.

The moment you start thinking about, you know, the consequences of a point, you're not thinking about the right thing. I love the team format, and this is where hopefully we can help on the side of the court, but that's not the reality of what tennis is on the tour.

And so you bring the debate forward onto on-court coaching. I don't like it. Because this is the responsibility the player has to do that, and the very best ones are able to maintain that intensity.

But Dan, you know, has really grasped that. As I said, the challenge is to do it week in, week out on the tour.

Q. Obviously you played the Davis Cup in Madrid. Can you just talk us through what you did in that period afterwards? And have you been working on anything particularly?
DANIEL EVANS: No, I mean, I tried to -- I went away for four or five days. Then I headed out to IMG to get going again. I practiced hard, trained hard with a physical trainer.

I mean, the big focus was trying to play my game as it has been this week, not to wander away from hanging back and -- you know, obviously I'm not the biggest of guys, so I can lose my court position pretty easy if they have a big hit. So it's putting my game onto them is what I worked on and we have tried to carry on here. I think it's been good. I thought I played real well to do that on the court.

Q. Have you basically not had any off-season at all? Or did you take some time off before Madrid?
DANIEL EVANS: I took 10 days off after -- I didn't play the last tournament of the year.

Q. You didn't play Paris, did you?
DANIEL EVANS: No. I took 10 days and started again. So I did two weeks then, and I took another little break and then did another two weeks and then a week here before this event.

TIM HENMAN: He came straight here from Florida.

DANIEL EVANS: Yeah, I came straight here from Florida.

Q. Tim just made the point about the on-court coaching. What are your thoughts? Obviously you don't have it. You know it's not there on the regular tour, but you have it here and at Davis Cup. What are your thoughts? Would you like to see that coming in?
DANIEL EVANS: It's not for me, no. I don't like it on the regular tour. I think, you know, you win quite a few matches when people aren't -- that's the goal, isn't it, to try and work out the match and keep your head in the game. So I don't like it personally, no.

Q. There have been some pretty exciting ties the past couple of nights in other cities. Wondering how much you have been able to sort of follow what's been going on at the other venues?
TIM HENMAN: Yeah, I mean, we are involved in this event, and we like to know what else is going on at different times, whether that's here or at the other two venues, and we will certainly follow what goes on tonight here.

But again, that's definitely been my messaging is that once we all were here on-site, we wanted to prepare properly and concentrate on the things that we do well and then go out and execute them.

And that, irrespective whether we go through or not, I think that's what's been very satisfying from my point of view is just how much fun we have had as a team and how well they have played, and we want to, you know, continue that in the next couple of sets.

Q. I guess my overall context is is it nice seeing how much intensity a lot of the players are showing? I mean, you guys of course have shown it, as well. But just to see how everyone sort of is taking this event on and really putting themselves into it?
TIM HENMAN: I mean, I'd be surprised if it was any different. You've got the best players in the world, you're in Australia, the leadup to the Australian Open. Huge prize money, huge points. It's the perfect scenario.

So if it wasn't 100% intense and competitive, then something's wrong with those individuals. So I think it's been a great event. There is definitely areas to do better. But, you know, so far, so good.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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ATP CUP

January 7, 2020

Tim Henman

Daniel Evans