Winning Wimbledon or scoring the goals to save his beloved Aston Villa from relegation may be beyond Dan Evans but he will accomplish one of his greatest ambitions by representing Great Britain as they begin the defence of their Davis Cup title in his home city of Birmingham today.
Evans, habitually indolent but undeniably talented, set his heart on playing in the World Group first-round tie against Japan from the moment the Barclaycard Arena was named in November as the venue for the tie. That month the 25-year-old was given extra motivation when Britain defeated Belgium to claim the title for the first time since 1936.
Evans’s increased workrate was rewarded yesterday when he was picked in place of Kyle Edmund, Britain’s official second singles player, who was ruled out by a back injury.
Evans has a winning record against both Japanese singles players, having beaten Kei Nishikori, the world No 6 who he will face today, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the 2013 US Open, while he holds a 2-1 advantage over Taro Daniel, the most recent win coming in Vancouver in August.
Edmund, who made his debut in the final in Ghent, suffered a strain to the right-sided oblique muscle in practice on Wednesday and Leon Smith decided that risking the 21-year-old was an unnecessary gamble — although Britain’s captain may well have been considering playing Evans, who has a lower ranking but far more experience, regardless.
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Order of play
“It’s obviously a positive that Dan has wins against the two Japanese but this is a different situation, a different environment,” Smith said.
“Dan was in the squad in the first place because he’s playing well. He’s on the way up, which is really positive. We weren’t sure of the configuration of the team but we are now.
“He is fully fit, plays well indoors, has good Davis Cup experience and is ready to go.
“I should mention it’s tough on Kyle, who is a very good player. He’s established on the Tour now. But I’ve got every confidence that Dan can play very, very well over this weekend.”
Evans, raised five miles away from the city centre arena in the Birmingham suburb of Hall Green, has caused more headaches for successive British captains and coaches than any other present player with his indifferent attitude and a desire previously to enjoy what many perceived to be a dubious social life rather than knuckle down.
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The influence of Andy Murray, who has brought Evans into his training circle, has prompted a change of attitude. “Around Wimbledon time last year, I could not really see myself playing in this team,” said Evans, the world No 157, who at the end of June had been troubled by knee problems and was ranked 763.
“Yet I’ve stuck with it, tournament by tournament and I’ve obviously had some good results.
“That’s it really. I’ve just carried on trying to work hard, day in and day out. But when this tie was announced for Birmingham I really wanted to play in it.”
Head-to-head records
Evans was not keen to reminisce on the US Open win over Nishikori, saying it was a long time ago, but would admit: “I’ve got the game to trouble him. I’ve got to be aggressive and play my game and keep the match quite close and hopefully I can come through.”
Murray will begin proceedings at 1pm in his first match since being beaten in the Australian Open final by Novak Djokovic 33 days ago. He has never played against the 6ft 3in Daniel, who was born in the New York, is based in Valencia and prefers playing on clay to an indoor hard court.
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“I know roughly how he plays,” Murray said. “I’ve watched some videos of his matches and I’ll see some more to get a better idea. He’s quite tall compared with the other players on the Japan team. He plays predominantly from the back of the court and moves like the Spaniards, playing that way.”