Dan Evans is fearing the worst after retiring injured at Queen’s. The “heartbroken” British No. 3 slipped and hurt himself while facing Brandon Nakashima in the first round.
He has already pulled out of the doubles draw at Queen’s, where he was planning to play alongside Andy Murray in preparation for the Olympics where they are also hoping to team up.
And Evans’ hopes of joining forces with Murray for what is likely the 37-year-old’s last Olympic Games are now under threat as a result of his latest injury setback.
Evans suffered a horror fall in the first game of the final set of his match against Nakashima on Tuesday. The 34-year-old screamed in pain as he went down behind the baseline on Court 1 with the umpire and his opponent rushing over.
The Brit immediately started clutching his right knee and was seen by the physio before deciding to retire at 6-4 3-6. Evans has since withdrawn from the doubles and he could now be a serious doubt for both Wimbledon and the Olympics.
“Yeah, I think I just slipped. Yeah, so we’ll see a bit more in next 48 hours, get a scan and stuff,” the world No. 59 said after retiring from the match. “Yeah, I think that’s one of the tough parts about grass court tennis. These things can happen. But, yeah, unfortunately it’s to me today.”
The Brit officially retired with a right knee injury and explained that he initially feared it could be his groin. A concerned Evans said: “I’m worried, no doubt. I mean, good thing, I thought it was my groin. That settled down pretty much straightaway. Had a crack in my groin, but that seemed to be okay. No real pain.
“But I think it’s MCL, sort of a bit inside of the knee, there is an issue there, that’s for sure on the testing so far with the physios. So, yeah, I’ve got to wait 48 hours, let it settle, and then get a scan. Yeah, I’m worried, yeah. That’s the bottom line, of course. Yeah, I’m in limbo a bit. It’s frustrating after October and now this. Yeah, if I miss the Olympics or Wimbledon, yeah, it would be a tough one to swallow, no doubt.”
Evans injured his calf at the Vienna Open in October last year and had to shut down his season early. After suffering another setback, he shared the fear he felt when he first went down.
“Yeah, that’s probably the worst thing you can do on the grass, your body go one way, and we have all seen that sort of motion before. You wince if you’re watching, and you hope it’s not too bad if it’s happening to you,” he added. “You know, touch wood I have been lucky with injuries, and the last one was a difficult one, but come back. There is positive signs, and there is obviously negatives, as well.”
Evans now faces an anxious wait ahead of his planned scans later this week. The 34-year-old has already opted out of playing doubles this week but is hoping that Murray can have a good run in singles.
“Yeah, I’m not going to play doubles here. Yeah, I have pulled out of the doubles already, so I need to look after — and Andy hopefully is going to win,” he said before Murray beat Alexei Popyrin.
“So, you know, he might get in another few matches here, and obviously I have not let him down, but I’m not fit to play. Hopefully if he keeps going in the singles.”
Murray and Evans are planning to link-up in doubles at the Olympics this summer. The pair also played together at the recent French Open to prepare but lost in the first round. With Evans’ recovery timeframe now uncertain, Murray could be forced to find a new partner for Paris 2024.
It is set to be Murray’s last Olympics as the two-time gold medallist is not planning to play after this summer. And Evans could be robbed of the chance to team up with Murray in his farewell.
