Team GB star made huge sacrifice to make Olympic memory he’ll ‘remember forever’
Team GB star Dan Evans has dropped 111 places in the ATP rankings (Picture: Getty)Team GB star Dan Evans made a huge sacrifice to play at the 2024 Paris Olympics and it paid off after he made a memory he’ll ‘remember forever’.
Evans is representing Great Britain in the Olympic tennis tournament at Roland-Garros alongside Andy Murray as the pair fight for a men’s doubles medal.
Evans and Murray got off to a remarkable start in their first clash – fending off five match points in one of the greatest comebacks of both of their entire careers.
The Brits defeated Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel and return to action against Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in the second round tonight.
Ahead of their next battle on the clay courts in Paris, it has come to light the big sacrifice Evans made in order to compete at the Olympics with Murray.
Evans took a big rankings drop in order to feature at the Games – a decision which has seen him brutally drop all the way down from world No.58 to No.169.
That’s because Evans had significant ranking points to defend at the ATP 500 Washington Open, where he landed the second Tour title of his career last year.
Dan Evans dropped 111 spots in the ATP rankings to #169He was #58 & had Washington to defend, but he chose to play the OlympicsThe Olympics are special for everyone⦠but I have a feeling the chance to play doubles with Andy Murray 1 last time played a big factor in his⦠pic.twitter.com/ZELLY7Cxv7— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 29, 2024
Evans won’t mind, though, after making an Olympic memory he will never forget next to a true icon of British sport, who is set to retire as soon as the event ends.
‘I’ve never saved five match points in a row and I never will again – he certainly won’t,’ Evans said.
‘It’s something I’ll remember forever but it would be amazing if we could go on to do something really special this week. He knows it’s his last tournament so sometimes he might think about that but he did a great job of getting us up and the crowd involved.’
‘I just didn’t want to miss the shot to end his career!’
Dan Evans on fending off five match points…
‘It’s amazing,’ Evans said. ‘I guess at 4-9 [in the tie-break] I just didn’t want to miss the shot to end his career! It sums him up. It’s amazing. Honestly, the best feeling for me to be a part of that.’
Murray, meanwhile, added: ‘In terms of my great comebacks, it’s probably up there.
‘I don’t think [I’ve saved five match points] in a row – in singles it’s almost impossible to do that, so I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.
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Read More Stories‘Certainly from my side, I didn’t think I was playing well and both of us can play much better than that.
The Paris Olympics is Andy Murray’s ‘last ever tennis tournament’ (Picture: Getty)‘In my career I’ve turned around a lot of matches I’ve looked unlikely to win, I’ve had that mental toughness, strength that was, at times, questioned early in my career.
‘I’m really proud of that – I always try my best to fight and figure out ways to come though.
‘When it mattered, I raised my level – and I need to try and find a way of starting the match like that in a couple of days’ time. When it clicks for us, we have the potential to play really well together because our games complement each other really well.’
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