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Wimbledon 2021: Dan Evans beats Feliciano Lopez to reach second round


Venue: All England Club Dates: 28 June-11 July
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full details here

British number one Dan Evans reached the second round of Wimbledon with a straight-set win over Feliciano Lopez.

Having had their match delayed by Monday’s rain, 22nd seed Evans battled to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 7-5 victory.

The 31-year-old will next face either Dusan Lajovic of Serbia or Frenchman Gilles Simon.

“It was great. It’s amazing to be back playing at Wimbledon again. I didn’t realise it was going to be as busy,” Evans said.

“I’m delighted to win. I played some good tennis.

“The first set I was probably a bit too into myself, once I let go a bit I really got rolling.

“It was a good mental effort.”

Earlier, Britain’s Harriet Dart, 24, exited the women’s singles with a 6-1 6-3 loss to Elise Mertens.

Dart reached the third round as a wildcard in 2019 but could not repeat that run this year with a tough opening tie against the Belgian 13th seed.

“It was always going to be a challenging match against a very experienced player,” Dart said. “She’s the ranking she is because she can consistently play at that level.

“There was definitely some positives to take. Overall, a little bit disappointed.”

Evans wins tight encounter

It was the second meeting between Evans and 39-year-old Lopez, who has appeared at every Grand Slam since the 2002 French Open.

Their first was one to forget for Evans, a three-set thrashing in the first round of the Australian Open in 2016.

But this time it was a much closer affair from the start, with world number 26 Evans needing a tie-break to close out a tight first set in which both scuppered break points.

He slowly, but surely, took control in the second set, twice breaking Lopez’s serve in a five-game winning run as the Spaniard made a number of unforced errors.

The third set was closely-matched too, Evans staving off two break points from Lopez before avoiding another tie-break by capitalising on his first match point.

Victory at the All England Club marks his first win at a Grand Slam in 2021, ending a four-match losing streak.

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Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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