Dan Evans is enjoying familiar surroundings but has no time to relax at the LTA’s Rothesay Open in Nottingham.
Evans is a two-time winner of the tournament and was previously based in the city and admitted it is always nice to make a return to the scene of previous success.
The 34-year-old opened up his pursuit of a third crown with a hard-fought 6-3 4-6 6-3 victory over Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker on Tuesday to progress to the second round, having been made to wait overnight to complete the contest.
The Birmingham native will face 18-year-old compatriot Henry Searle in the next round and hopes he can continue his winning run to create more memories in Nottingham.
“I am familiar with the city, I am familiar with the surroundings and a lot of the people who come and watch,” he said.
“I am way more comfortable than most places and it is just nice to be able to play matches here. There is always a good crowd and that always makes it way better.
“I am really comfortable on the court. It feels really familiar when I walk out there. I know the look of the court; it makes me feel a bit at ease. I really enjoy playing here with the fans.”
Evans last lifted the trophy in Nottingham in 2022 after beating Jordan Thompson 6-4 6-4 to add to the title he won in 2019.
Success in 2024 would continue the recent trend of British success at the venue, with Andy Murray and Katie Boulter winning last year’s singles titles and Jacob Fearnley and Johannus Monday taking the men’s doubles title.
Evans fought hard against Stricker to ensure he remains in with a shout of carrying on that streak, edging out Stricker in two hours and 18 minutes and a British player is guaranteed to progress to the quarter-finals when he takes on Junior Wimbledon winner Searle.
But world No.62 Evans admitted he can only focus on himself as he looks to rack up more wins and push further up the rankings.
“It’s great that people are winning but I need to win some matches,” he added. “Unfortunately those wins don’t give me any points so it’s great when they do well, and hopefully there are some more wins this week.
“I would love to win some more matches this week; I obviously believe that I can. It’s hard to win matches and there are a lot more tests to come.”
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