Evans wins first Wimbledon match for four years

Wimbledon 2025

Dates: 30 June-13 July Venue: All England Club

Former British number one Dan Evans said his first Wimbledon win in four years “meant everything” as he beat compatriot Jay Clarke to reach the second round.

The 35-year-old struggled for victories before the grass-court season – a run that saw him drop out of the world top 150 and left him uncertain if he would be able to play at Wimbledon.

But, after recording some good wins at Queen’s and Eastbourne, he was handed a wildcard for his home Grand Slam and made the most of that opportunity by beating Clarke 6-1 7-5 6-2 in the first round.

Not only was that his first Wimbledon victory since 2021, but also means he could secure a mouth-watering second-round tie against former world number one Novak Djokovic, who faces Alexandre Muller of France later on Tuesday.

“Today meant everything,” Evans told BBC Sport.

“Yes, it was wildcard versus wildcard but that was one of my top, top wins in my career.

“Coming to these tournaments, you look ahead to grass courts and I had no wins. I don’t want to be that person asking for a wildcard when I didn’t deserve it.

“I really needed wins, I really needed to come here deserving for myself, not for the wildcards but for myself. “

His victory means a total of 10 British players are into round two across the men’s and women’s draws – only the second time that has happened this century alongside 2022.

Seven advanced on Monday – a record for in a single day in the Open era – and they were joined on Tuesday by Evans, men’s British number one Jack Draper and wildcard Jack Pinnington Jones, who was making his Wimbledon debut.

But there was disappointment for some of their compatriots on day two as former British number one Heather Watson was knocked out in the women’s draw.

She had made a strong start against 23rd seed Clara Tauson by taking the opening set but the Dane showed her quality to battle back and win 2-6 6-4 6-3.

Former British number two Jodie Burrage also went out as she was beaten by American Caty McNally 6-3 6-1, while Francesca Jones lost to Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva 1-6 6-3 6-1.

In the men’s draw, wildcards Johannus Monday and George Loffhagen both exited in the opening round.

At 35, Evans can’t be sure how many Wimbledon tournaments he has left and in the build-up to the prestigious event he became emotional during a press conference as he discussed the challenges he has faced this year.

Currently ranked 170th in the world, Evans needed a wildcard to secure his place at SW19 but despite his struggles earlier this year, his grass-court form has been encouraging.

Against Clarke, who was making his first appearance in the main draw in three years, he looked hungry from the outset, racing through the first set and then pushing through the challenging moments to win.

Once again the emotions spilled over as Evans punched the air in delight, before throwing some of his tennis equipment to the jubilant crowd.

Now he has his eyes on potentially facing 24-times Grand Slam champion Djokovic again – he beat the Serb in their only previous meeting in Monte Carlo in 2021.

“It would be really nice to play Novak,” added Evans.

Pinnington Jones, who trained with Draper as a teenager and the two remain good friends, was the last of the British players to complete their match on Tuesday, beating Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 7-5.

The 22-year-old produced a gutsy display, fighting back from set point to win the opener, and then clawing back from 4-1 down to win the third and progress.

A total of 23 British players began round one, with 14 of those wildcards, and 10 are now through to round two, with Evans and Pinnington Jones the only two wildcards to win their openers.

Asked if he felt British tennis is in a good place with so many home players going through, Evans said: “These events are not where you judge British tennis.

“Everybody who takes wildcards has a great level. All of the players who are a direct entry have a great level. It needs to be in the other tournaments. That’s just a fact.

Watson, who reached the fourth round just three years ago, got off to a bad start in her match with Tauson when she was broken in just the third game.

But that sparked a fine spell for the former British number two as she won five games in a row on her way to taking the first set.

Tauson initially looked to have no answer for her opponent but she regrouped and came out stronger in the second set, securing another early break and this time making it stick, although she was helped by Watson struggling with her second serve.

With conditions once again sweltering at Wimbledon, Watson started to lose the accuracy of some of her shots in the decisive third set and was broken at 3-3, a crucial point as Tauson went on to seal the win.