Dan Evans to face Milos Raonic at the Western & Southern Open after Andrey Rublev win
Evans on Raonic test: "Everyone knows how good he is and I will be looking to put my game on the court and try to beat him"
Monday 24 August 2020 11:52, UK
Dan Evans made an excellent return to life on the ATP Tour as he beat world No 14 Andrey Rublev in three sets at the Western & Southern Open in New York on Sunday.
The British No 1 secured his spot in the second round with a 7-5 3-6 6-2 win over the 10th seed.
It was their third meeting of the year and Evans moved 2-1 up in the score count after two hours and 32 minutes of action in New York.
It took the world No 28 three breaks before he could secure the opening set, but it was the Russian who came out of the blocks quickest in the next.
After Rublev had levelled, the decider immediately went the way of Evans who established a 3-0 lead before he closed out to set up a second-round meeting with Milos Raonic.
"I am happy with how I played in the third, it was really deserved and some good tennis as well," Evans told Amazon Prime.
"It will probably be a little less physical match [against Raonic] which is nice, but I spent plenty of time out here, so it will be difficult.
"Everyone knows how good he is and I will be looking to put my game on the court and try to beat him."
Evans was the second British player to reach the second round in New York after Andy Murray defeated Frances Tiafoe on Saturday.
The duo could meet in the last 16 if two-time Wimbledon winner Murray can stun fifth-seed Alexander Zverev on Monday.
Fourth-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas moved into the last 16 with an emphatic 6-1 6-3 win over South Africa's Kevin Anderson.
Anderson had beaten Britain's Kyle Edmund in three sets on Saturday but had no answer to Tsitsipas, with the Greek 22-year-old needing only 69 minutes to progress.
Belgian seventh-seed David Goffin was the other player through to the last 16 on Sunday, beating Croatia's Borna Coric 7-6 (6) 6-4.
Top women's seeds tumble out
The tournament lost its top two women's seeds on Sunday with No 1 Karolina Pliskova and No 2 Sofia Kenin crashing out.
Czech Pliskova, who had a first-round bye, slammed down 11 aces but also committed nine double faults in a 7-5 6-4 defeat to Russia's Veronika Kudermetova.
Australian Open champion Kenin also struggled to get going after the coronavirus lay-off, losing 6-1 7-6 (9-7) to France's Alize Cornet.
The New York tournament is serving as a warm-up event for players ahead of the US Open, which begins on August 31.
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