British number one Dan Evans has admitted he was given a lesson by Daniil Medvedev after his fourth-round exit from the US Open. While it was a tough result for Evans to take, it’s another Grand Slam experience under his belt and one that might well drive him to better things in the future.
Evans Talks Up Gulf in Class
Medvedev, who is currently 2/1 to win the tournament in the US Open betting from Betfair, showed why he’s up to second place in the world rankings, with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Evans at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Many looking at US Open betting tips before the event would have seen Medvedev as one of the main challengers to deny Novak Djokovic a clean sweep of the Grand Slam titles in 2021. The Russian certainly showed he’s capable of winning majors going forward, as he showed his quality against Evans, who himself was battling hard to stay in the contest.
Following the defeat, Evans admitted that in sport there are different levels and that Medvedev was “a different level to me today”. Evans was unable to produce a single ace against the star, who hails from Moscow, who managed 13 aces and 43 winners overall during the fourth-round showdown in New York.
Winning 84% of his first serve points and 50% of his second, Medvedev continued to show why he has emerged as one of the top players in the sport. With the likes of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer approaching the end of their careers, it looks like Medvedev will be one of the players looking to step into that void at the top of the sport.
Cause For Evans’ Optimism
While Evans admitted he was beaten by the better player, there’s certainly cause for optimism about what the Brit might be able to achieve in the coming years on the circuit. The encounter with Medvedev was just the second time Evans has managed to reach the fourth round at a major. Evans first achieved the feat back in 2017 at the Australian Open and this was his best run on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows.
It caps off a year that has seen Evans make significant progress, with the Birmingham star climbing up to 27th place in the world rankings. Evans started 2021 by winning his first ATP Tour title at the Murray River Open, before reaching his first Masters 1000 final in the doubles at the Miami Open. Getting to the third round of Wimbledon was another step in the right direction, before reaching the fourth round at the US Open.
At the age of 31, Evans still has plenty more years of top-level tennis ahead of him, and 2021 has given his supporters hope that the best may be yet to come.
