Lexus Eastbourne Open 2025: Dan Evans & Francesca Jones get the Brits off to winning start in first round
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The Brits have got off to a flying start down in the south coast with both Dan Evans and Francesca Jones clinching impressive opening round victories at the Lexus Eastbourne Open.
On a busy first day at Devonshire Park, Evans came back from a set down to knock out world No.49 Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the second match on Centre Court.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Francesca Jones got the better of Lexus Birmingham Open champion Greet Minnen on Court 1 – defeating the Belgian 6-4, 7-5 in an hour and 49 minutes.
For Evans, it’s his second ATP top 50 win of the summer so far – building on his victory over world No.13 Frances Tiafoe at the HSBC Championships last week. It was his first win over the Serbian in three meetings.
At 35 he’s now the oldest British man to win a main draw match in Eastbourne – surpassing the previous record held by Tim Henman (32).
The former world No.21 has been happy with his level so far on the grass and is growing in confidence match by match.
“Whatever time I have left, it’s a work in progress,” Evans said in his post-match on-court interview. “Me and my coach are working hard on certain things like everyone else does but sometimes it takes time.
“I’ve been battling away to get the level on court – it’s strange that it’s happened in England but funny things happen.
“I’m feeling really confident and probably the most confident I’ve been on the grass for a long time.”
Evans responded well to losing a close first set, where he was struggling to find his feet. The former Citi Open champion locked in in the second set and turned the match on its head – clinching the early break and hitting 13 unreturnable serves to level at one set apiece.
After taking a 3-0 lead in the final set, it was a tough battle to get the win over the line. Kecmanovic recovered one break but Evans stayed firm to see out the match with a hold to love in the final game.
In the second round, he faces a tough match against second seed and last year’s Queen’s Club champion Tommy Paul.
“It’s why everyone plays the game,” Evans said commenting on playing these big matches. “If you’re at the start or end of your career you want to play the top players in the world and he’s (Paul) definitely that.
“He’s great on the grass and every surface – but with the crowd and on this grass, we’ve got a chance.”
Jones knocks out Birmingham champion
For British No.5 Jones, it’s her second best win of the season by ranking and her third WTA Tour win in 2025.
It wasn’t plain sailing for the Briton who was also battling against the wind in a match where both players wrestled for momentum.
Serving in the tricky conditions became a challenge in its own right and Jones managed to break the Belgian five times across the match.
Minnen was able to recover a break deficit in both sets but Jones showed her mental strength to see out the win with an ace on her fifth match point.
“When you come to Eastbourne you know the conditions will be a certain way, you’re going to have to struggle with the wind and get on with it,” Jones said reflecting on a tricky first round match. “Conditions are difficult for everyone, you can’t really complain about it it’s not like it’s unique to myself.
“When it’s that windy, I quite enjoy it because I know I’m mentally resilient in that sense and I’m probably going to deal with it better than the other person from that perspective. I try and relish it, it’s another challenge.
“It gives opportunities to people, coming to Eastbourne, especially the Brits and it certainly gives us the opportunity to equal out the match a bit.”
Jones is back a Devonshire Park for the first time in four years, coming off the back of another WTA Tour win against fellow Brit Harriet Dart at the Lexus Nottingham Open.
The 24-year-old was in good spirits after the match and is encouraged by the progress she’s making on the grass ahead of Wimbledon, where she has a main draw wild card this year.
“I haven’t played at Eastbourne since 2021 and we were considering our options coming into this week,” she added.
“For me the main thing is to keep getting matches on grass and court time. Obviously, I’m glad that I came now.”
Jones will play either Nottingham runner-up Dayana Yastremska or fifth seed Magda Linette in the next round.
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