‘It's been awful' – Dan Evans breaks down in tears during Wimbledon press conference and feared letting people down
Former World No.21 who is now 149 places lower fears letting his family down
SAD-NAV TO SW19 'It's been awful' – Dan Evans breaks down in tears during Wimbledon press conference and feared letting people down
DAN EVANS broke down in tears as he recalled the long and winding roads he has taken to reach Wimbledon.
The Brummie, 35, has competed in random outposts in Thailand, Portugal, Bahrain, UAE, Italy, Czech Republic and France to boost his world ranking.
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Dan Evans says he wonders what long-term partner Aleah Evans thinks
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Evans is set to play Novak Djokovic if he beats Jay Clarke in round one
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This has meant playing several Challenger-level events in front of just a few fans to ensure he did not slump too low and into obscurity.
Wildcard Evans, who is 170th on the ATP list, is not planning to retire just yet.
But he became emotional when he talked about his fear of potentially letting down his close family and friends and if he was no longer good enough to compete on a tennis court.
Wiping away the tears, Evans said: 'It's not the matches. It's when you feel like you've let people down, that's the tougher thing about it.
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'You're not used to losing, that's probably more of the thing.
'I don't worry about retirement but it's just different isn't it?
"To start losing, it's scary at the end of the day, to know sometimes you're not good enough.
'It's not an easy thing in sport to not be good enough. I don't know why I'm so emotional about it.
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Aleah Evans will be watching Dan at Wimbledon
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'I guess I'm pretty proud of the last four or five months and how they've been.
'They've been difficult and I'm happy to have come through the other side.
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'I don't ever struggle to go and play tennis. But I did wonder, 'Why are you doing this?'
'That's when you need good people around you. It's been awful basically, I played poor, but it's going in a better direction.
'I'm not scared of hard work. I'm more than happy to play the Challengers.
'It's just when you shut the door at night and you wonder what other people are thinking? What's your wife's thinking?
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'Is she thinking, 'Come on, mate, give this up?' Or your dad, your parents? It's not a conversation you have very often. 'Is this the right thing?'
'The last few weeks have been good to see that I've still got it because it's easy to say you believe it. But it's got to happen otherwise you drop down the rankings.'
In round one, Evans is up against Derby-born Jay Clarke on Tuesday in one of two all-British ties and the winner will likely play Novak Djokovic next.
It is hard to ignore the shadow of the Serbian but Evans can draw on memories of losing in three sets to Roger Federer in 2016.
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The former British No.1 said: 'About 9,000 people have messaged me about it.
'Do you think we don't have phones? It's a bit like when a boxer's got a big fight in front of them and he can't overlook it.
'Jay Clarke will be looking at it and I'll be looking at it. There's a nice match in the second round on a very big court.
'I want to win that match not just to play Novak but to get a crack at him. It's a great incentive.
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'I'm really looking forward to Tuesday first but to get a chance to walk out probably on Centre against a guy who's hardly lost here.
'I've done it against Roger Federer. It would be a good little prize at the end of a good grass-court season.'
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