View
comments
Dan Evans admitted he panicked during his comprehensive defeat by Felix Auger-Aliassime as British singles interest ended in the third round of the Australian Open.
Evans had won their only previous meeting at the same venue 12 months ago to claim his only ATP Tour title - the Murray River Open - but a repeat never looked on the cards from the moment he dumped a forehand volley into the net to lose the opening set.
Auger-Aliassime had spent eight hours on court in his first two rounds but Evans was unable to make this an extended stay on John Cain Arena, going down 6-4 6-1 6-1 in just an hour and 53 minutes.
Dan Evans defeat means Britain's hopes of an Australian Open singles champion are over
The 31-year-old is as straight-talking as they come, and he said: 'I panicked on the court. I missed my chance and I panicked a bit, and that happens in tennis.'
The British number two did not have to take to the court to make it into the last 32, with second-round opponent Arthur Rinderknech withdrawing injured ahead of the scheduled clash on Thursday.
He did not feel that helped him, saying: 'I'm not making excuses but it wasn't easy to have a walkover and I sort of lost my momentum a little bit. I never had that before, two days off, and it was difficult.
The British number two said he panicked during his third-round defeat to