Dan Evans is taking a deliberate step into the unknown in his pursuit of grass court success.
The Birmingham ace and British No.2 beat Australian James Mccabe 6-4 6-4 to progress to the last 16 of the LTA’s Lexus Surbiton Trophy on Tuesday afternoon.
Evans, 33, is a surprise inclusion at the West London event after saying he would not seek a Surbiton wildcard following a first round French Open defeat against Thanasi Kokkinakis.
But after making a shock U-turn and entering the first domestic grass court event of the season ahead of Queen’s later this month, Evans was in fluent form on centre court.
And Evans, who will now bid to book a quarter-final spot on Thursday, said: “It would have been easy to stay at home in Birmingham, Cheltenham or wherever and hit there on the grass.
“But that’s what I want to do. I want to push a bit on grass and do something different.
“I want to be in the best possible shape to step on the court each time to give myself the best possible chance to compete, feel good physically and be happy with my game.
“I played to work a bit and train.
“Last year I went to Nottingham where I like.
“I’m very comfortable there. So, I tried something different and that’s basically my goal, to change a few things and try to put myself in the best spot to come Monday or Tuesday at Queen’s that I’m ready to go.
“I’ve had some bad results this year, but I’ve also beaten some very good players and played some close matches.
“That’s just tennis.”
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website
