For the first time in 37 years, Great Britain have four men ranked inside the world's top 100 following the release of the latest ATP Emirates rankings. Dan Evans has reached a career high of 97 in the world, joining fellow Brits Andy Murray (2), Aljaz Bedene (59) and Kyle Edmund (88).

Triumph in Taipei

Evans celebrated success at the Santaizi ATP Challenger event in Taiwan, securing the title after defeating Russia's Konstantin Kravchuk 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in last Sunday's final. This victory gave him his third ATP Challenger title in the last nine months, after also winning events in the United States and Canada.

The road to the top 100 has not been straightforward for the 25-year-old, after being ranked as low as 763 in the world as recently as June of last year. Hard work and determination has gotten him to this point, with the reward being a place in the top 100 for the first time. Even the man from Birmingham's shock run to the US Open third round in 2013 (l. to Robredo) did not earn him enough ranking points to achieve this career high ranking and runs in tournaments like that since then have been few and far between.

Evans was part of Great Britain's Davis Cup winning team last year. Photo: Getty
Evans was part of Great Britain's Davis Cup winning team last year. Photo: Getty Images

British success stories

Evan's qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open (l. in 1st round), but it is likely he will not have to go down that route, or even rely on a wildcard at Wimbledon this year as his ranking should guarantee him direct entrance into the main draw at SW19.

Meanwhile, Edmund has moved up one place in the rankings back up to 88, six places shy of his career best of 82, achieved in February of this year. This move follows a good run at the Estoril Open last week, before falling to Benoit Paire in three sets. Murray is currently defending his title in Madrid and has reached the quarterfinals following a straight sets win over Gilles Simon on Thursday.

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About the author
Joshua Coase
2nd Year Multimedia Journalism Bournemouth University, UK - Accredited Journalist for VAVEL USA Tennis and writer for VAVEL UK AFC Bournemouth section.