Britain’s Dan Evans says he is “heartbroken” after a nasty slip on the grass at Queen’s Club in London left him in serious doubt for Wimbledon, starting July 1, and the Olympic Games in Paris, where the tennis begins on July 27.
Evans was forced to retire from his first-round match against United States player Brandon Nakashima with the score level at one set apiece, after falling when changing direction in the first game of the deciding set.
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He cried out in pain, initially fearing that it was a groin injury, but confirmed later in a press conference that it was the “inside of his knee,” raising fears of a medial cruciate ligament (MCL) issue, which Evans stated had become apparent during testing with his physios off court.
“If I miss the Olympics or Wimbledon, that would be a tough one to swallow,” Evans said.
“I’m in limbo a bit.”
The world No 59, who was due to partner Andy Murray in the doubles event, is not the first player forced to retire after a fall on the fresh courts. Nakashima’s compatriot Frances Tiafoe was serving in the second game of a third set against Australia’s Rinky Hijikata, when he fell in similar fashion to Evans as he was changing direction. The American later confirmed that he had suffered an MCL strain, but hopes to be fit in time for Wimbledon.
Danish player Holger Rune commented, “I think I slipped maybe three times, one of them quite important,” after losing to Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-7 (4), 3-6. That crucial slip occurred at break point during the match. Rune, however, also said that “it was the same on both sides,” and Evans was seemingly sanguine about the nature of grass, which becomes increasingly slippery in cooler and more humid weather, as well as in the mornings, evenings, and early stages of tournaments. As the courts see more play or the weather becomes drier and warmer, the surface tends to become less slippery.
“It’s not an ideal day to be playing on grass. A bit of moisture in the air,” he said.
“It was a cloudy, overcast day. I didn’t think the court was that slippy. Obviously some parts of the court don’t get played on that much, and that’s part and parcel of the grass, I think.”
A tournament official at Queen’s told The Athletic that “grass courts are a living surface and will always react to weather conditions in the lead-up to the event, usually having a tendency to play more slippery at the start of the tournament.
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“As everyone knows we have experienced exceptionally cooler and wetter weather the last couple of months in the UK and the outstanding grounds team at the Queens Club have done their very best to adapt to this, applying the same rigorous preparation as they always do.”
This is the final year Queen’s will host only a men’s event. Starting from next year, the prestigious Wimbledon warm-up tournament will become a mixed event, initially for one year but with the expectation of much longer.
In the lead-up to that decision, the ATP had expressed concerns that the women’s event played before the men’s would wear out the courts. On this evidence, it seems more likely to do them a favour.
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(Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)
