THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 1, 2025

Dan Evans

Press Conference

D. EVANS/J. Clarke

6-1, 7-5, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Dan, give us your thoughts on the match.

DAN EVANS: Yeah, it was a good match. A good start to the tournament. Played pretty good tennis. Really happy to get through. That was what it was about, really. Just to get through and get off the court as quick as possible.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Is there any downtime between now and your next match? Are you going to be watching the Djokovic game?

DAN EVANS: No, I won't. I won't probably watch. No, I got stuff to do tonight: recover, eat. So yeah, looking forward to a bit of downtime, really. Get out of here and hopefully have tomorrow off.

Q. We don't know, but if it is Novak, when you're in the trenches a little bit, in tennis terms, and the challenge is having Novak at Wimbledon, what keeps you going?

DAN EVANS: It's a good chance, a good occasion to get to play him, and probably no bigger occasion than to play him in Wimbledon. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it if he gets through.

Yes, it's what you play tennis for, isn't it, to play the top players in the biggest tournaments. I'm really looking forward to it.

Q. I believe you said you were talking about you put the work in, you knew you had the tennis still in you. How hard is it to still put that work in? This is your 10th Wimbledon, I think.

DAN EVANS: Yeah, it's not that easy. The body obviously is getting older, as am I. Try the best with the team I have to be able to practice each day. It's not like this is the end product when you come to the tournament. You can't miss sessions because you just won't be good enough to win at these tournaments. You have to do the day in, day out stuff.

Of course it gets harder. Things change a little, as well, in your training. But the last two, three months I've done a good job of it. It was difficult. Probably from last October, wasn't easy. To do that, my body wasn't allowing that. Yeah, it becomes frustrating if you can't train like you normally could.

But luckily, or however you want to call it, I've been pretty fit and healthy. My body's been allowing it, yeah.

Q. The other day you spoke about the challenge of feeling about letting people down. How hard was that period compared to when you were banned from the sport?

DAN EVANS: Yeah, I think when I said 'letting people down', it wasn't like I felt I let people down. It's if they thought maybe, you know, c'mon, like, give it up. It wasn't so much me letting them down. The other side of the coin, I let people down on that occasion. It was different, obviously. That's when people rely on you for other things. Yeah, that was a big, big error on my part.

This wasn't. It wasn't for the lack of trying, if that makes sense. Yeah, it wasn't. I was trying, but I just wasn't able to produce the results, whereas when I was banned, I couldn't try. I was banned, it wasn't allowed, and that was my fault.

Very different times. Yeah, equally as difficult.

Q. If it's Novak next up, you're one of the few people on the planet with a 100% record against him. What do you remember about Monte-Carlo a few years ago?

DAN EVANS: I think when they do the stats, it has to be over, like, three matches to have a 100% record, so we'll say I have a decent record (smiling). Five sets are a lot different to three sets, albeit it was a big tournament.

This is his best surface, I imagine. It's going to be a tough match. But I said previously, when I play the top guys, I don't change much about myself. It's not about them, it's about me. We're both competing for the same goal.

I've got a lot of respect for Novak. He's a great champion. He's done wonders for the game. He's done pretty much everything in the game. But it's also my chance to win the match. I have to be competitive, I have to play my game, I have to be myself. I can't go into my shell and have too much respect.

I'm looking forward to it.

Q. About British tennis, obviously seven wins for British players yesterday. As somebody who has been around for a while, seen a few ups and downs, is that just one of those freakish days or do you think British tennis is in a really good place?

DAN EVANS: I mean, I'm not sure if you sat in many of my press conferences, but these events are not where you judge British tennis. Everybody who takes wild cards 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. I'm sure you look at the wild cards, they've had a few. We need to be coming back in years to come with more people main draw.

But it's no stretch of the imagination, is it, in a bad place, British tennis. I think 23 players in both is an amazing accomplishment for the LTA. Really shows how they're backing their players. Let's be honest, some of the rankings are not of a wild card in the previous years.

It's amazing that our men and women are getting backed so well. But they have to go away now and, yeah, pay back that faith, albeit Iain Bates, head of women's, Leon, head of men's, the All England Club. Hopefully they think, I want to be here main draw next year than I've got to ask again. That's what the wild card is for, to use the prize money, to invest it in yourself, not to sit back and rest on our laurels, which has happened in previous years.

We're in a great spot at the minute.

Q. How did you find playing on a rowdier outside court today? You looked over at the umpire at one point when you were preparing to serve. Do you mind what sort of stage or arena you play on?

DAN EVANS: It's an amazing court. Not sure how long it's been there, but it's relatively new, I think. Played there last year. Yeah, it's a nice court. It's pretty cool how it sort of is in the corner. That sort of gets the majority of the people in that one corner.

The only difficult thing for me was listening to Swiatek's on court interview when I was trying to finish my match (smiling).

Yeah, it was a great court. I really enjoyed it. I imagine I won't be on that one in my next match.

Q. What did you roar at the end? What did you say?

DAN EVANS: Can't remember. I don't know. Could have been anything. Literally, I have no idea.

Q. Lots of friends there today, did you?

DAN EVANS: Yeah, normally I tend not to bring a lot of people to the tournaments. But yeah, this year I've decided to have a lot of family and friends -- well, friends. My dad thought a round of golf was more important (smiling).

So yeah, I had a lot of friends there today. It was good. It was good to see me win. It was a good day.

Q. (No microphone.)

DAN EVANS: He had a golf trip planned. He said he might leave a day early. I might not want him to come now.

Q. 11 months ago, you were on court at Roland Garros when Andy Murray bowed out for the last time. Almost as if your passing the proceedings that night was in parenthesis, 'Also appearing on court, Dan Evans'. After all you've given British tennis, do you think you have a statement win left in you where you are center stage, you are the headline?

DAN EVANS: Yeah, I mean, this is no better place to do it than here. I've said all along, I would love one more. I had some fourth rounds, but my goal was to make the quarters of a Grand Slam. You don't always reach your goals, but I still believe I have a shot.

Yeah, of course it was Andy's night. I think he never made me feel like that, just to clarify. He always involved me. Of course, it was about him. As Andy is, he's made it about the both of us. I think he's a class act, yeah.

Q. I know you don't see it this way, necessarily, but others viewed it as sacrifice that you made, losing those points. Do you believe in karma, good things come back around?

DAN EVANS: I think if I believed in karma, I'd be in a bit of trouble (smiling).

No, again, I love playing for my country. I didn't think about the points. I've never thought about ranking points in my career. I've thought about match at a time, playing in the tournaments.

It's a unique sport that we play that it's in a year that we get the points, they drop off. I've never worried about points dropping off. I saw it as a chance to play the Olympics. Yeah, I wish I'd done more. Honestly, I can't tell you how good an event it was, how amazing everything was there. Yeah, whoever's going to L.A., you've got a hell of a journey ahead.

Q. It doesn't sound like you have much fear of the occasion or the challenge of winning today. Do you feel in that sort of mindset?

DAN EVANS: No, I have experience. There's been matches in Grand Slams where I've not put my mentality on the court or been nervous. It happens to everybody.

But that could happen on Thursday. I imagine it won't. I'm looking forward to the occasion. I haven't had the chance to play in any sort of arena like that for a long time. I've been playing quallies of the Grand Slams, challenger events.

Of course I'm lucky I've been inside the top 50 for X amount of years before that, and I got the experience to play on the big courts.

But yeah, I am a wild card, but I don't feel like I'm a wild card playing Novak. I still feel my level's really good. The difference between your first time out, you don't have the experience about how to prepare, how the day is going to be. I know how it is going to be. I know how I prepare. Where the younger guys or girls, they don't have that experience.

I don't think that will be a factor.

Q. You mentioned L.A. Is there any part of you...

DAN EVANS: No. No. No.

Q. As a fan?

DAN EVANS: No. No chance I'm going to be traveling when I finish. No, no. It's too long away. No. Yeah, no. Down to the others now.

Like I said, I don't know what it's like covering it, but I imagine it's pretty special. If you get a chance, it's a hell of an event.