Dan Evans could write himself into tennis history on Thursday as he faces Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
It has not been an easy year for the 35-year-old Brummie as he tumbled down the world rankings and crashed out early at both Queen’s and Eastbourne.
While he launched his Wimbledon campaign with a straight-sets win over countryman Jay Clarke, his schedule will get no easier in the second round as he meets the 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic, who is in the hunt for his eighth title in SW19.
Evans is part of a very exclusive group in tennis, though, in that he has never lost to Djokovic.
There is a caveat - they have only met on one occasion - but he has a record to preserve.
That landmark 6-4 7-5 victory came four years ago in Monte Carlo, the then world No1 crashing out of the tournament in just over two hours as Evans held his nerve for the fifth tour-level clay win of his career.
Djokovic, who finished the match with 45 unforced errors, described the outing as ‘one of those days’, saying: “This has been one of the worst matches from my side I can recall in the last few years.
"I felt awful on the court overall. Nothing worked. I can’t take any positives away from this match.”
After the Serb struggled through his opener on Tuesday, requiring ‘miracle pills’ to overcome stomach pain as he beat Alexandre Muller, the door could be ajar for Evans to double his advantage in the head-to-head.
When he last beat Djokovic, Evans ranked 25th in the world. Now sitting 154th, 148 spots shy of Djokovic, he has his work cut out.
With a win, though, he could become just the fourth player ever to go unbeaten in multiple meetings with the Serb, joining Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, Czechia’s Jiri Vesely, and Marat Safin.
Speaking ahead of the bout, Evans appeared confident. After all, he has little to lose.
“I am a wild card, but I don’t feel like I’m a wild card playing Novak,” he explained. “I still feel my level’s really good. The difference between your first time out [as a wild card is] you don’t have the experience about how to prepare, how the day is going to be.”
He is, however, expecting the rematch to be a more challenging affair than the Monte Carlo tie, now a distant memory.
“I think when they do the stats, it has to be over, like, three matches to have a 100 per cent record, so we’ll say I have a decent record,” he laughed.
“Five sets are a lot different to three sets, albeit it was a big tournament. It’s going to be a tough match. But I said previously, when I play the top guys, I don’t change much about myself. It’s not about them, it’s about me.”
