“He’s got to be one of the most accurate servers in our sport’s history,” John McEnroe observed of Federer, pointedly at odds with Evans’s poor serving in probably the biggest match of his career. The most scandalous moments in US Open history (Espresso) And the former world No 1 and multi-major champion said of Evans, “He won’t appreciate today, but he’ll be able to look back on it differently one day.” Perhaps. Evans said beforehand he had long ago gone past the mindset of being intimidated by Federer, although there is no lack of respect for the man with 20 majors and the love of millions. Indeed, he started more calmly than Switzerland’s Daddy Cool, holding to love and taking three points off Federer’s serve in the first six minutes. Those blips against Sumit Nagar on Monday and Damir Dzumhur on Wednesday were parked now, as he hit a rhythm to grab three break points, all saved. Their playing history does not embarrass Evans and taking Federer to two tie-breaks in the second round of the Australian Open was a quality performance. The stands had pretty much filled now, and the capacity crowd were treated to some exquisite tennis, rich with touch and artistry from both players. In locker-room argot, winning every point on your serve in a set is a, “golden” – and Federer surely has had plenty in his gilded career, but Evans could have done without it on a boiling Friday afternoon, as he scrapped as hard as he could to regain some of that self-belief he had spoken about beforehand. Federer, as nice a man as he can be in front of a microphone, is ruthless with a racket in his hand and continued to grind away at his opponents dwindling reserves. And then, from nowhere, the Swiss dropped serve in the third game to give Evans a sliver of hope: perhaps not to win the set or the match, but to restore some dignity.
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