Dan Evans celebrated the best win of his career on grass after beating world No 13 Frances Tiafoe in the first round of the HSBC Championships at Queen’s.
The 35-year-old kept his cool on a sun-baked Andy Murray Arena at Queen’s Club with a 7-5 6-2 victory.
It was the former British No 1’s second career win over a top-20 opponent on grass, having knocked 16th-ranked Nikoloz Basilashvili out of Wimbledon six years ago.
Evans, now ranked a lowly 199 and mainly competing at lower-tier Challenger events, said: “It’s always amazing to play here. I was lucky I got the wild card.
“I didn’t know he was top 20 but I knew he was very good. I’m happy to play some good tennis because it has been few and far between.
“Days like this are why I’ve been carrying on playing. I’ve been preparing really well and focusing on what I needed to today.
“It has been a long year so far. I’ve been playing the lower tournaments, but this is why I’m hanging around to try and get some wins on the grass.”
A run of five games in a row did the damage, with a neat serve and volley wrapping up a tight first set.
American Tiafoe had to retire from his first-round match last year after slipping over and injuring his hip.
It was Evans who took a tumble early in the second set but he recovered to consolidate another break with an ace.
He had a stroke of luck when a forehand clipped the net and rolled over to clinch a second break, before wrapping up a notable win with a volley.
Evans will face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or Brandon Nakashima in round two.
Norrie falls to Mensik in first round
British No 3 Cameron Norrie was beaten in three sets by Jakub Mensik
Former finalist Cameron Norrie, the British No 3, was knocked out by Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.
Norrie had two set points in an opening-set tie-break but was unable to take either, and moments later Mensik forged ahead.
The 29-year-old reset impressively in the second, reeling off five games in a row to level the match.
But a double-fault gifted Mensik a break at the start of the third and Norrie quickly ran out of steam as the world No 17 triumphed 7-6 (6) 1-6 6-1.
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