There's something about Dan

At that start of the year he was playing in Future tournaments and now 8 months later Dan Evans is in the third round of the US Open. Remaining  calm and producing world class shots in the second round, Evans produced another shock by beating Bernard Tomic 16 63 76 63 with 44 winners compared to Tomics 34. After the match he said quoting the BBC:-

"I played well today, but I missed quite a lot," added Evans. "I didn't serve great I don't think. I served pretty decent at times when I needed to.

"In the last match, I was really clinical. I could have been a bit more clinical today. That may be a bit harsh - I just won against Tomic."

One of the biggest impacts on Evans sudden increase in his form is due to a change in his mentality. Evans has openly admitted in the past he hasn't been 100% committed and just basically been doing what every other British lad does (go out with friends, drinking) but now he wants to buckle down and make something of his tennis career which should be admired by the media and there's no need to focus on Evans past (like its gonna change anything now anyway!). Another key instrumental figure in Evans performance is a certain Andy Murray. When Evans reached the final of a challenger a couple weeks ago Murray was watching his match streamed live online according to his twitter account. Speaking about the friendship between the two players British Davies Cup captain Leon Smith said to BBC sport :-

"Dan absolutely loves Andy and what he does, and respects him hugely, and there's been a lot more communication which is good," said Smith. "He practices with him a little bit and he sends him messages. That goes a long way for these guys - they get a huge amount of confidence from that."

The only issue in my opinion is not Evans ability to produce consistent solid tennis but how he copes with the surge in media interest he will now receive. Saying this watching his interviews on Sky Sports this week he has conducted himself well and very professionally which is always a good sign!