Great Britain’s Davis Cup chances have taken a major blow after Dan Evans withdrew from the tournament’s finals in Malaga. A calf injury suffered by Evans at the Vienna Open has prematurely ended his season.
Evans was set to feature for Great Britain in November’s Davis Cup Finals. But the 33-year-old is now out of the tournament, as well as the Paris Masters, in a serious dent to captain Leon Smith’s hopes of guiding Great Britain to success.
The setback for Evans comes with British colleague Cameron Norrie also having pulled out of the Paris Masters with a knee injury and suffering a poor run of form. The British No 1 has lost 11 matches since Wimbledon and has suffered seven defeats in eight matches following a loss against Taylor Fritz in Tokyo.
It was Evans’ form that helped Great Britain rally through the qualifying rounds of the Davis Cup. Norrie had lost to Stan Wawrinka and Ugo Humbert, leaving Evans to do the work to get the team through.
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But the Birmingham-born British No 2 will now miss the trip to Malaga for Great Britain’s quarter-final against Serbia on November 23, where Novak Djokovic awaits. “Unfortunately, as a result of the injury sustained in Vienna, I will not be fit to compete at the Davis Cup finals in a couple of weeks,” Evans wrote on Instagram.
“I am extremely disappointed but wish the rest of the GB team all the very best in Malaga. I will be working hard with my support team to get back to full fitness as soon as possible.”
An out-of-form Norrie could be left attempting to overcome 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic at the Davis Cup. The Serb recently singled out Great Britain as a threat to Serbia’s chances of winning the tournament.
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However, Djokovic suggested that the now-absent Evans was going to be one of the main threats. “They are a complete team, they have four top singles players, while one of them, Evans, is extremely good in doubles as well,” the 36-year-old said.
“I saw that he played continuously and that he was the choice of their coach in combination with Skupski. They are very difficult and I hope that we will be able to win after the singles.”
Evans had been leading 4-1 in the first set of his Vienna Open clash with Frances Tiafoe when he injured his calf. He will now miss the remainder of the season.
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