After making his return in April 2018 from a lengthy year-long ban because of testing positive for cocaine, little over 18 months later and Dan Evans’ career has skyrocketed.
Having to fight his way back up from obscurity, Evans currently sits at 43rd in the World Rankings.
His best ever being only a couple of spots higher at 41 and now that he is the leading racket for Britain, he will surely be looking to improve on that.
The 29-year-old is set to join the list of great players including Tim Henman and Andy Murray just to name a few as the best racket in the whole of the UK.
Considering Kyle Edmund’s current struggles and Andy Murray’s battle with injuries, Evans’ last few performances showcase just why he has been made No.1.
He narrowly missed out on his first title in the Delray Beach Open in February and he didn’t let that put him down.
Instead, Evans came back fighting to achieve two third round places in both Wimbledon and the US Open later this year.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “I don’t look at myself as British number one. I think Andy is British number one, and then there’s me, Cameron [Norrie] and Kyle [Edmund] behind him, but obviously it’s great. It means I’m playing good tennis, and I’ve had a good year.”
Looking ahead, the new British No.1 will play his first match tonight in the Round of 32 of this year’s Stockholm Open against Australian Bernard Tomic on centre court.
(Picture by Peter Menzel, under Creative Commons License)
