British tennis star Dan Evans was seen hitting himself in the head with his racket during Thursday’s defeat to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Evans was supported by a passionate home crowd on Centre Court but Djokovic was at his best to wrap up a 6-3 6-2 6-0 second-round victory.
British No.5 Evans lost his cool in the fourth game of the second set after he fired a shot straight into the net as he started ranting towards his box.
‘It’s stupid!’ Evans shouted about a shot he had been suggested to use, a backhand slice, as he then proceeded to hit himself in the head with his own racket before play eventually continued.
‘Evo’s turn to have a proper rant at his box,’ former British No.1 Tim Henman said on commentary duties for the BBC.
Speaking after his defeat in a post-match press conference, Evans was asked if it was his last Wimbledon appearance at the age of 35 and said: ‘I don’t know. (I will) see what this year brings.
‘(I need to) sit back and take count of everything (and) decide at the end of the year. There will definitely be some sort of chat at the end of the year with what I want to do.
‘It’s not getting any easier, that’s for sure. Waking up after playing matches is hard now.
‘I’m not saying I can’t walk when I wake up. But yeah, muscles hurt, et cetera.
‘It’s just not as easy as it used to be without sounding Andy Murray-esque dramatic. I can wake up, but it’s just not as easy.’
Djokovic: A Brit in Britain is never easy to face
Djokovic, speaking on the court after his win over Evans, said: ‘A Brit in Britain is never easy to face.
‘Dan Evans can be causing a lot of trouble if you are not on your game which I think I was from the beginning to be honest.
‘I knew exactly what I needed to do and I executed it perfectly. Sometimes you have these kinds of days where everything goes your way.’
Evans on ‘Murray-shaped hole’ at Wimbledon
Meanwhile, Evans was quizzed about the absence of Andy Murray at Wimbledon in his post-match press conference and said: ‘When somebody retires, you always feel you notice they’re gone, whether it’s where they used to sit in the locker room…
‘But yeah, listen, Andy was always around for the British guys and girls. It’s not as if he’s not in tennis anymore. He speaks to plenty of people.
‘Incredibly supportive of British tennis. We can’t expect him to live his life around tennis when he’s done that for the past however many years. He’s got a family. He’s got kids.
‘He needs to do whatever he needs to do outside of tennis. It’s not his job anymore to run British tennis at the forefront as a player. That’s been passed over to somebody else. I think it’s great what he did. Now, as I said, it’s moved on. He’s left such a big legacy.’
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