For nearly two decades,Novak Djokovichas spent his time crushing the hopes and dreams of all of his adversaries while in pursuit of his own lofty goals. He did so again on Centre Court, ensuring there would be no fairytale ending to Dan Evans’ encouraging grass-court season as he marched into the third round of Wimbledon with a devastating performance and dominant 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 win.
“He can be causing a lot of trouble for you if you’re not on the top of your game, which I think I was from the very beginning,” said Djokovic, the sixth seed, afterwards. “I was preparing well for the match. Technically, tactically, I knew exactly what I needed to do. I executed perfectly – sometimes you have these kinds of days.”
In a tournament that has hosted 23 British singles players, the most in a generation, Evans has surprisingly been one of the most interesting British stories of all. Having spent a large part of the past seven years firmly inside the top 50, rising to a career high of 21 in 2023, last year the 35-year-old tumbled down the rankings. He fell as low as 217 last month.
For most of the past year, Evans has been forced to compete on the ATP Challenger circuit, but he continued to struggle even against much lower-ranked opponents. Before the tournament, he spoke with great emotion about his doubts and struggles during this period, particularly the feeling that he was letting his family and team members down.
On a lovely summer afternoon on Centre Court against the greatest player of all time, there were no miracles to be uncovered here. From the beginning of the match, Evans employed all the trickery and hand skills that, with his diminutive frame, he has used so effectively throughout his career. He dragged Djokovic into endless, protracted rallies with his wicked backhand slice, he flitted forward to the net whenever he could and he kept himself in complicated points with his improvisational brilliance.
But Djokovic was sharp from the beginning. Even when Evans ground through some difficult early service holds, his opponent continued to pile on the pressure with his excellent return. He also served well throughout, breezing through his service games, and his backhand managed Evans’ slice with ease, allowing him to patiently wait for his opportunities to force himself inside the baseline and attack. Once the Briton’s early resistance broke down, Djokovic picked up steam and eased to victory, further building his confidence and conserving his energy for future matches.
“You have these kinds of days where everything goes your way, everything flows,” added Djokovic. “It’s good to be in these shoes and holding the racket on a day like this, no question about it.”
With ample attention on Evans’ attempts to hold off retirement for as long as possible, this is a further reminder that at 38 Djokovic continues to perform at a spectacular level considering his age and the mileage in his legs. A year on from Djokovic’sremarkable runto the Wimbledon final just weeks after undergoing knee surgery on a torn anterior meniscus, it is striking how calm and positive Djokovic appears at the beginning of this tournament.
Aside from his stomach issues in the middle of his first round win over Alexandre Müller, the seven-timeWimbledonchampion is in great physical shape. After playing well to reach the French Open semi-finals, a result that underlined his status as the top contender to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz even at his advanced age, he is also playing with great confidence, fully aware that the grass courts of Wimbledon present his best chance of winning his elusive 25th grand slam title.
As he departed the court, Evans appeared to savour his final moments as he saluted all corners of the crowd and then signed ample autographs. After enduring such a difficult period on the court, Evans returned to the grass court season carrying perhaps his final hopes of a resurgence. He actually found what he was looking for, defeating two top-15 opponents in Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul, winning a round at Wimbledon and performing at a good level throughout the grass season.
After playing to a packed audience of 15,000 spectators on Centre Court, Evans will make the difficult transition back to the humble and sometimes empty surroundings of the Challenger circuit. He should leave Wimbledon with the understanding that although the journey ahead will be difficult, he has shown to the world, and particularly to himself, that it is not over.