Player Spotlight: Dan Evans
Playing from the mound—2-shot pass—stealing the net
Dan Evans is one of my favourite players to watch. In an era of baseline attrition, Evans is carving out plenty of wins playing a throwback style of tennis. Standing at 5’9’’ with a slice-dominant single-hander, his ability to consistently trouble the top players is a masterclass in strategy and counterpunching.
In 2021 he won his first title in Sydney (def. Auger Aliassime 6/2 6/3), scored a win over Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo (6/4 7/5), and reached a career-high 22 in the world rankings. He has started 2022 with a 7-2 record, going undefeated in round-robin play at the ATP cup (def. Isner, Shapovalov, and Struff), reaching the semi-finals in Sydney (lost to Karatsev), and the third round of the Australian Open (lost to Auger Aliassime).
This highlight reel from Tennis TV showcases his unique skill-set:
There are three facets of the Evans game that are major strengths and something other players should look to incorporate into their own games1: his slice, his sneaking ability, and his two-shot pass.
Slice
Evans’ typical pattern is to slice his backhand crosscourt to the right-handers backhand. This works for three main reasons;
By keeping the slice low to the opponent’s backhand, the ball is hard—or risky—for his opponent to attack. You need a lot of topspin to get the ball up and down off his slice, plus, you must generate your own pace from a slow ball.
Evans covers his backhand in these exchanges, giving up the line ball. He positions himself on a mound a meter or so on his backhand side. It helps that his running forehand is excellent, so he is happy to give up the space and force opponents into risky line shots off his low slice.
By getting the ball low and short, Evans forces players to come forward on weaker approach shots, often when Evans is in the middle of the court.
On top of these strategies, the fact that Evans plays a predominantly slice-based game means players have to adjust to an unfamiliar style of play. We have seen in the women’s game how much success Ash Barty has enjoyed, in part because she presents a different set of patterns and problems to other players with her slice backhand.
Sneaking
Despite a lack of firepower, Evans is excellent at getting to net whenever an opportunity presents itself. In the highlight video above, there are two points in particular that highlight his court awareness:
4:20 v Albot. Evans plays a forehand in behind Albot who is still recovering to the middle of the court. Albot does a good job getting the pass low and cross from his open stance, but Evans plays a perfect crosscourt drop shot which dies on the grass.
5:01 v Goffin. In this instance, Evans plays a slice from very deep in the court, recognizes Goffin’s open racquet face, and quickly sneaks in for an angle putaway volley.
Sneaking is a great way to make your opponent feel uncomfortable using defense in their own game. It forces players to go for more when under pressure, knowing they can’t float it back high and deep and reset the point.
2-Shot Pass
Evans is brilliant on defense largely because he doesn’t try and overplay. Several of the points from the highlight reel showcase the 2-shot pass. There are two great examples of this from the video: at 1:59 v Tiafoe, and at 2:42 v Wawrinka. In both instances, Evans is forced into a defensive slice which he plays to the middle, but more importantly, he gets it below the net. This forces the opponent to hit the volley up, giving Evans enough time to scramble for a second, often easier passing shot. While hitting passing shots from deep in the court is possible with today’s strings and player strength, the smart play is often getting the ball low, scrambling back, and forcing your opponent to make some volley magic.
In the two most recent Australian Open finals, we have seen how effective the slice has been for Djokovic and Nadal in getting Medvedev into uncomfortable court positions. Low and forward is not where he likes to play, and forcing Medvedev (and many others) to the net is an effective strategy if you can do it on your terms. In an era of powerful baseliners, Evans has a toolkit that blunts and starves pace, and forces big players into games of finesse. Others should take note.
Wins over: Djokovic, Shapovalov, Rublev, Auger Aliassime, Cilic, Zverev, Hurkacz, Dimitrov, Khachanov, and Tiafoe.
Nadal showcased his willingness to slice and sneak in the Australian Open final, despite that not being his usual style of play.