Our best 16 year old has his own thread, so I thought that I would dedicate one to our second best prospect.
Daniel Evans was born on 23rd May 1990 and hails from Birmingham. His game is best suited to the faster surfaces like grass and indoors. He used to train in the LTA's academy in Loughborough till the last month, but has now based himself in Nottingham, where he is working with Martin Weston, who is also the coach of Jamie Baker.
The BBC did an interview with him earlier this year -
Link.Daniel Evans first came into international prominence earlier this year in January. He used to be the number seven in the 16&U European circuits when he went to play in Hauts de France, Marcq-en-Baroeul. Hauts de France is one of the best tournaments in the world in its age group and former winners include Gael Monfils, Gilles Muller and ........Roger Federer. Evans had a week which he will surely remember throughout his lifetime - he won the singles crown, reached the finals of doubles (partnering Marcus Willis) and most importantly, became the new number one in Europe!!
Incidentally, Hauts de France has a
great website. They even have videos from this year's tournament. Either they don't work on my computer or I can't find them because I don't understand French. Any help in this department will be greatly appreciated.
15 year old Daniel swiftly ended his 16&U career after getting hold of the number one rank and played two G5s in Britain, winning both of them (Cox had to retire in the finals of Notts).
He also won the domestic 16&U championship that was held in Bournemouth this August. In fact, he is yet to lose a singles match in Junior levels this year!!
He does not have a ranking point at this moment, but he has performed brilliantly on quite a few occasions, including a match where he took a set off Auckland on indoors! It’s just a matter of time before he gets a point.
His doubles career has started brilliantly - he reached the quarters of a Futures last week and played in the finals of one yesterday.
Daniel Evans is definitely someone who can be one of the best players in the world within the next few years. He just needs to ensure that the early success doesn't get into his head and he keeps on trying. Martin Weston is a great coach and I believe that Mark Hilton is also providing him with some sort of guidance.
