British No. 4 Dan Evans has secured his place in the third round of Wimbledon after defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets. Evans will now follow in the footsteps of fellow British player Marcus Willis and will take on seven-time champion Roger Federer in the next round.

The 26-year-old had never won at a match at the All England Club prior to this year’s results, and was superb in a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 6-1 victory over seeded 30th Dolgopolov.

Hard work proves vital

A year ago the British player was ranked in the 700’s but, after a year of vigorous work his raw talent deserves, he is certainly reaping the benefits ranking 91, which was high enough to guarantee a place at the Grand Slam. Evans headed into the tournament for the first time in good form, on the back of reaching the third round in Nottingham last week.

After rain disruptions on Court Two on Wednesday, the following day the match resumed under sunnier skies at 6-6 in the first set.

Evans agonisingly just missed a forehand by inches on his first set point at 6-5 in the tie-break but fortunately was handed the set after Dolgopolov double-faulted.

Dolgopolov sliding into a backhand | photo: The Telegraph
Dolgopolov sliding into a backhand | photo: The Telegraph

His 13 aces and just two double faults and 39 winners, proved that Evans was in good form, moving well on the court and outplaying the Ukrainian from the base-line and fast moving to the net at the right moments.  

He quickly moved up to a double break in the second set and although he had problems serving out the set he made no mistakes to put himself two sets up moving onto the third.

After breaking Dolgopolov twice to lead 3-0 in the third set his confidence and rhythm was all coming together for the Brit. Facing match point, he hit his forehand into the net, leaving Evans to face his toughest challenge and biggest match of his career.

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About the author
Jess Cowie
Sports journalism at Chester University