Dejected Dan Evans will take some time away from tennis after suffering another shock first round Wimbledon defeat.
The British No.2, 33, went down against Frenchman Quentin Halys in four sets under the Centre Court roof late on Tuesday night.
Evans kicked off his clash on Monday but was unable to complete it that day owing to the fading SW19 light.
And after a chaotic Tuesday of rain-caused cancellations, Evans had the conclusion of his match moved to the All England Club’s most prestigious court in the evening after Andy Murray had triumphed earlier in the day.
Evans pulled a set back in front of a partisan home crowd but was unable to hold his nerve in the fourth as Halys, ranked almost 50 places below the world No.30, booked his place in the last 64.
The Birmingham player reached the third round of the Australian Open in January but has now succumbed to two consecutive first round exits at his home Grand Slam.
And ahead of September’s US Open at Flushing Meadows, Evans said: “I think now it’s important to spend time with family and friends.
“Tennis won’t be on my agenda for a little while.
“It’s been a long six months or seven months, whatever it is. It’s important to recharge and get ready for a good swing in America, which I enjoy. But it’s important to rest as well.
“That’s all I’m really going to do for a bit and then start back up.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve hit a wall – it’s just frustrating, annoying, whatever, but I’m not sure what else you can do. You’ve just got to keep competing.
“I think I need a few days away from thinking about tennis and not talking about tennis.
“I’ll leave incredibly frustrated, but it’s important to switch off.
“When I feel it’s right, I’ll start thinking about it, asking people what they think, but I think it’s important to totally switch off now.
“It’s important to step away sometimes, to live a bit of a normal life and get away from living out of a suitcase for a long time.”
Evans did not get his clash against Halys, 26, underway until late on Monday evening and started sluggishly on Court No.2.
The world No.79 raced into a two set advantage – 6-2 6-3 – before the match was suspended as the London light started to fade.
After a myriad of matches fell foul to the soggy SW19 conditions on Tuesday, Evans was given a shot at engineering a miraculous turnaround on Centre Court after Murray, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka had won earlier in the day.
He rallied to cut the gap and trigger hopes of a memorable late night comeback but was unable to hold his serve at 5-4 down in the fourth set as Halys, competing in just his second ever Wimbledon, booked a second round date against Australian Aleksandar Vukic.
Evans added: “It’s tennis, isn’t it?
“You need to put your game on the court whenever you get a chance in a five-set match, and I didn’t do it for the first two sets.
“That’s ultimately what let me down.
“But I had chances in the fourth to get ahead – I nearly did a good job to equal up the match.
“If you look back at Monday, I wasn’t very good at all. I have to give him credit.
“He played very well, and it’s frustrating, but that’s why I have to keep coming back and putting my game on the court and competing.”
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