The emotion poured out of
Dan Evans after his quest for redemption continued with a commanding 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory over
Nikoloz Basilashvili, the No 18 seed.
Evans is back at
Wimbledon for the first time since serving a one-year ban for testing positive for cocaine in 2017 and the British No 3 let the tears roll down his cheeks after reaching the third round thanks to a brilliant performance against his Georgian opponent.
“I just want to do well at this tournament,” the world No 61 said. “It was a goal to be in the main draw here. I did that. Obviously I missed out the last few years – to be into the third round is great.
“Obviously a lot of my friends were here, people who have helped me so much. I don’t know, it just got the better of me today. There’s plenty more
tennis to be played in this tournament, so I won’t be resting on that win.”
Evans was denied a wildcard here 12 months ago, but he has been in excellent form on grass this summer and will fancy his chances of keeping his run going when he faces Portugal’s João Sousa, who was a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 winner against the struggling Marin Cilic.
Yet the Briton will take nothing for granted against Sousa after the world No 69’s impressive victory over Cilic, the 13th seed. “I just have to try to get a win on Saturday, then we can keep going,” he said. “Literally that’s what it’s like: match at a time, set at a time. It’s boring, I know. I just have to concentrate on Saturday.”
John Isner, the No 9 seed who was beaten in last year’s semi-finals by Kevin Anderson, made an early exit when he lost 6-4, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin.