David Felgate was there in the coaching box when his former charge Tim Henman played for the first time against a young Roger Federer.
Staggeringly, that was nearly 20 years ago, and on Wednesday Felgate struggled to believe that he was watching the same player, this time in his role supervising the revival of Dan Evans.
‘It’s incredible to think that Roger is still there at the highest level,’ reflected Felgate after his player had put up spirited resistance before losing 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 in a highly attractive second-round battle.
Roger Federer raises his arms in celebration after he managed to beat Dan Evans in Melbourne
Dan Evans' coach David Felgate (L) finds it hard to believe Federer is still playing at such a level
‘What really strikes you about him (Federer) is his movement and balance at that age. It’s phenomenal, and the rest of his game can’t happen without that.
‘The serve, too, and the way he manages to hit his spots. I could never have thought he would still be going when I watched him play Tim in Basle and Vienna.’
Evans reminded a packed Rod Laver Arena of his rare ability to strike a tennis ball. He had two serves at 5-4 in the first tie-break that could have turned it into a very interesting contest, but missed volleys on both occasions.
Afterwards, Federer paid him the compliment of saying that it felt like he was looking into a mirror (because they play the game in the same easy-on-the-eye style). And looking in the mirror rarely displeases His Rogerness.
But as Felgate and Evans acknowledged, putting on a great show in front of a worldwide audience and a live crowd of 15,000 will count for nothing if he cannot reproduce it in more humble settings.
Felgate was most impressed by the movement and balance of the Swiss legend
While qualifying and making the second round will boost his ranking to around 160 — from a standing start last April when his cocaine ban expired — there is still much to do. His next stop will be an obscure Challenger tournament in the northern French town of Quimper.
‘The thing that matters is that he takes that level he showed today and applies it on court when he is facing a player who he is better than, rather than today when not too much was expected and he wasn’t the favourite,’ said Felgate.
The coach was around British
