The Tour has now returned to Europe following the China swing with three 250 level events spread across the continent in Sweden, Belgium and Kazakhstan and Tuesday saw Dan Evans in successful action at the Almaty Open on his first tournament since July, as was Jack Fearnley in the Nordic Open where unfortunately Cameron Norrie, on his return to the tour following an arm injury, crashed out.
Evans came through the qualifying event in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and more than held his own to defeat Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-2 7-6(4) after one-hour, 51-minutes.
It wasn’t the best of starts for Evans who double faulted twice in his opening two service games but managed to break Daniel in the fourth and now, with his own service game back on track, he fired aces on game points in the fifth and seventh games to lead 5-2 and broke the Japanese player to pocket the opening set.
More aces followed for Evans in his opening three service games of the next set, although the 34-year-old Brummie failed to capitalise on two break points in the sixth game.
In what turned out to be a much tighter affair, Daniel secured his first break of the match to take a 4-3 lead, but Evans responded with a vital break back to stay in contention.
Two Evans aces in the next game left Daniel serving to keep the match alive, which the world No. 89 did successfully.
Another important ace in the early stages of the tiebreaker gave Evans an advantage that his opponent could not overcome, with the former British No. 1 clinching the decider to close out the second set and set up a meeting with the top seed from the US, Frances Tiafoe.
Jacob Fearnley continues a successful run
. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Meanwhile in Stokholm Jacob Fearnley continues his excellent run of results which has seen the 23-year-old Scot, unranked last year, break into the top 100 after winning four consecutive Challenger events.
In the Swedish capital he came through the qualifying event and then beat the Frenchman Corentin Moutet 6-2 7-6(5) after one-hour, 51-minutes to face Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, the seventh seed in round two.
At the same event, Cameron Norrie lost 6-4 6-4 to Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic as he continued his comeback from an arm injury which prevented him from playing the US Open after missing the Olympics.
Kecmanovic broke the world No. 52’s serve in the third game of the opening set and would successfully hold serve to take a well-contested opening set.
Again, the Serbian struck early in the following set, breaking Norrie’s serve in the opening game to take full control of the opening match which he won in just 77-minutes.
