Wimbledon 2025: “I really soaked it up, and I did enjoy it” - Dan Evans reflects on second round loss to Novak Djokovic
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Dan Evans’ Wimbledon campaign came to an end in the second round after the 35-year-old was knocked out by 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
The Brit put up a strong fight in the opening set but couldn’t sustain his energy against Djokovic, who went on to clinch a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 victory and seal his 99th win at Wimbledon.
Despite both Evans and Djokovic being long-standing competitors on the ATP Tour, the pair have only ever met once in their career, with their previous match coming at the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters where the Brit caused a shock upset over the Serbian in straight sets.
That said, Evans couldn’t quite replicate the same result on Centre Court today after a clinical display from the seven-time champion but the Brit relished every minute of the battle in front of his home fans.
“I appreciate the chance to play on Centre Court again,” Evans said reflecting on his loss. “Bottom line is, I may never get another chance.
“When you're 35, you've got more perspective than when you're 21. As I said before, I wanted to win the match. I believed I could win the match. I felt confident going into the match."
Despite not being able to get over the link in his match-up against Djokovic, Evans has enjoyed plenty of highs during the British grass court swing.
The 35-year-old knocked out two top 20 players in Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul at the HSBC Championships and Lexus Eastbourne Open respectively as well as clinching a first round win at the Libema Open.
I understand the occasion and what a moment it was for myself to go out there and experience everything today. The last probably four or five games, I really soaked it up, and I did enjoy it.
Evans’ spark of form on the grass will no doubt provide him with plenty of confidence heading into the remainder of the season where he’ll look to continue his run of form on the hard courts.
"I think I've got a decent shot against the sort of tier below the top, top guys," Evans added. "I think I've still got some tennis in me, which was what I was looking for. It's been positive. No real negatives. I would have loved to have took one of the tournaments a bit further on the grass."
Despite upsetting the British fans on Centre Court by knocking out one of the home favourites, Djokovic was full of praise for his opponent, saying “He’s a good quality player that possesses a lot of talent,” Djokovic reflected.
“(He has) a lot of great touch and for the grass, where obviously the ball stays very low with his slice, he can be causing a lot of trouble to you when you’re not at the top of your game.”
The quality of serving proved to be the difference in the opener, with Djokovic losing just three points on serve while Evans won just 52% of points on his service games.
The pressure increasingly mounted on the British No.5 with every game, and after batting away nine break points, he eventually conceded as he hit a forehand long with Djokovic going on to seal the set with a sixth ace.
It’s a tough challenge to compete against a player who was once on a 45-match win streak on Centre Court at Wimbledon, and Djokovic brought his best level to the tricky encounter against the world No.154.
The world No.6 continued to dial up the pressure on the Brit, and frequently approached the net where he won 85% of points (22/24) throughout the match.
Riding the momentum, the seven-time Wimbledon champion made the most of his chances in the second, converting both of his break point chances to open up a 5-1 lead before closing out a two set advantage in just 32 minutes.
Evans has come back from two sets to love down on two occasions in his career but failed to make it third time lucky as Djokovic stitched together a run of six games to comfortably ease into the third round.
