British No 1 loses first two sets to Mackenzie McDonaldAudibly castigates himself into five-set comebackThe
British No 1, Dan Evans, is through to the second round of the
Australian Open, but he had to come from two sets down before seeing off the world No 129 Mackenzie McDonald. It took the vastly improved Birmingham player three hours and 21 minutes to beat the one-time
American prodigy, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, on an outside court packed with vocal but nervous British fans.
Elsewhere, the first shock of the tournament saw the exit of the talented 13th seed Denis Shapovalov, the only player to threaten to walk off court if the air quality was considered hazardous (it was classed “near perfect” on Monday). Losing his composure under sustained pressure, he chose another route home to
Canada when Marton Fucsovics, the world No 67, stayed cool to score a rare big win, 6-3, 6-7 (9), 6-1, 7-6 (3) on Margaret Court Arena.