Dan Evans is a significant doubt for Great Britain’s Davis Cup campaign after a painful calf injury forced him to leave the Vienna Open on crutches on Tuesday. The British No 2 faces a battle to be fit in time for the quarter-final against Serbia in Malaga, Spain, on November 23 after retiring from a match for only the second time in his ATP Tour career.
Evans, 33, was leading 4-1 against Frances Tiafoe, the world No 14 from the United States, in his first-round match in the Austrian capital when he attempted to run forward from the baseline. After pushing off his right foot, he shouted out in agony before limping back to his courtside seat.
Evans called for medical assistance and told the trainer that he had heard a noise from his leg. After it became clear that he could barely walk, never mind run, he told his opponent that he was unable to continue the match.
Initial checks ruled out a tear in his achilles tendon, which could have forced him out for up to nine months. But further scans are required in the next 24 hours to determine the exact nature of the issue with his right calf.
Evans, ranked No 35 in the world, played a valuable role for his country in the Davis Cup group stages in Manchester last month, winning four of the five matches he contested across singles and doubles. The strong partnership he has forged with Neal Skupski is considered crucial if Britain’s tie against Serbia goes to a decider.
Advertisement
If Evans cannot play, it seems likely at this stage that Cameron Norrie and Andy Murray would play in the singles against Serbia. Norrie would face the 24-times grand-slam champion Novak Djokovic as the British No 1, while the world No 36 Laslo Djere would be Murray’s likely opponent. Jack Draper also provides Leon Smith, the the Britain captain, with another singles option.
Joe Salisbury, who won his sixth grand-slam doubles title at the US Open last month, could be drafted in to the squad to partner Skupski. Jamie Murray is also an option given that he formerly played with Skupski and has won four titles on the ATP tour this year.
Meanwhile, Simona Halep has officially registered an appeal against her four-year doping ban with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The former world No 1 and Wimbledon champion from Romania is set to be given a hearing early next year as she bids to fight the determination of an independent tribunal that she had committed intentional anti-doping violations after testing positive for the banned substance Roxadustat last year.
