Photograph: Mike Frey/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock
Dan Evans is on some sort of a roll, dismissing the former US Open champion Marin Cilic in four sublime sets to reach the third round of a grand slam for the fifth time, a record at odds with the outdated perception of him as a tearaway and underachiever.
It would be a shame, however, if he were to dilute his beguiling swagger, as it is the very quality that may carry him into the second week of the Australian Open.
In any case, this was by a distance his biggest win. It was his second in a week against a top-10 player, after defeating Dominic Thiem on the way to his breakthrough ATP Tour-level final in Sydney and probably the most convincing performance of a career that has swooped and dived like some of the seagulls that got in free under the lights of Show Court 3 on a cool and loud evening.
It had the feel of a rock concert as much as a tennis match, and Evans loved every minute of it – some more than others, as his expletives demonstrated during distractions created by latecomers to the outside court. He produced tennis of consistent excellence against an opponent 44 places above him in the rankings and who grew steadily disillusioned as his own best work was artfully deconstructed in just under three hours.
Evans won 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3, and played with a mix of adventure and discipline that proved irresistible. He struck five aces, 32 unreturned serves and seven double faults, 29 winners and 44 unforced errors, as well as outscoring Cilic 85-76 in rallies of four shots and fewer, with a more even distribution of points from the back of the court.
“To come through on the last match point was pretty pleasing for me,” he said. “I struggled early with the shade on the court and his ball was coming through pretty quick [Cilic hit 14 aces]. Once the sun went down I got into it. It was great [to have the crowd’s support]. The Aussie boys told me it was going to be pretty noisy. I’m looking forward to Friday.”
Ever the master of the understatement, is our Dan – not Daniel, he reminded us this week, as some local media insist on calling him. And there will be no more open courts for him here. He is almost certain to be in the main stadium, Rod Laver Arena, or Margaret Court Arena. It will not bother him.
Later he said: “Five sets is the ultimate test. It was really good. I think I played as well as I can play today. I knew I could win, but there’s no point sort of sprouting off beforehand that I could win. He was giving me a good hiding at the start. I just hung in there.
“I try not to think about the finishing line too far into the match because you get ahead of yourself. You’re thinking about it, then you’re not thinking about it. Love‑30 at the end was a big point, and I really started to think I was going to break him and win the match. It was definitely the biggest win of my career.”
The euphoria of reaching his first ATP Tour final in Sydney clearly lifted a player for whom injury, lack of application and a rebellious nature held him back in a stormy youth. He is 26 and maturing without losing his cheek and self-belief, an encouraging development.
The Australian Bernard Tomic, the No27 seed who overcame Dominica’s Víctor Estrella Burgos 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) , is Evans’s third-round opponent. The pair have met twice before, with one win each.
Initially the 6ft 6in Cilic, eight inches taller than Evans, looked as if he might overpower the world No51 with his big serve, as the Birmingham player, troubled by a gnat in his eye midway through the first set, struggled to find the rhythm or confidence he showed in defeating Facundo Bagnis in three sets on Monday.
After having his eye cleared during the break, he saved two break points at the start of the second. They traded breaks, then Evans lit up the gloaming with a glorious running backhand, single‑handed, that found the deuce corner for a 4-3 lead, on serve. It would have done Ken Rosewall proud.
When Cilic hit three sloppy ground strokes from deep in the 12th game, Evans had a spring in his step again – wearing a fresh pair of shoes, as it happens – and levelled at a set apiece.
Within half an hour, he was a set up, playing way above his ranking and sucking the self‑belief from the bemused Croatian with measured slices and well-timed forehands deep and wide to both wings. Cilic saved two set points in the eighth game, but could not hold off Evans with ball in hand.
Cilic held without ceremony at the start of the fourth but could hardly have imagined what was to come. In an epic second game that lasted a quarter of an hour, Evans saved eight break points, with nine deuce points.
It was, surely, the best fight of the tournament, littered with invention and skill on both sides of the net, a treat for the late‑evening spectators – although the stewarding was poor, and both players complained about what at times resembled a relay of beer glasses.
It appeared to take more out of Cilic than it did Evans, whose spirits soared and he broke for 2-1 but he handed it back in the fourth game, so on they scrapped. As if scripted, Cilic obliged on his serve and Evans held, moving within two games of a victory few beforehand would have predicted.
Cilic, who had not lost here against a player ranked as low as Evans since 2007, was serving to stay in the tournament and saved two of three match points before dumping a regulation forehand to bring an enthralling match to a downbeat end.
