Top seed Daniel Evans produced a strong serving performance to cruise to an opening-round victory Tuesday at the ATP Challenger Tour 125 event in Surbiton.
The home favourite defeated Australian teenager James McCabe 6-4, 6-4 after winning 40 of 46 points on serve, despite a 54 per cent first-serve percentage. The World No. 25, who won the Surbiton Challenger title in 2019, is aiming for a fourth grass-court Challenger title this week.
“I played pretty solid tennis, it’s always nice to play at home,” Evans said in his post-match interview. “It’s a pretty cool place to play, it’s sort of an old-fashioned tennis club. It’s somewhere I’ve enjoyed playing before and that’s why I come back.”
Evans will next meet 6’8” Gabriel Diallo, who downed Liam Broady 6-4, 6-4 in first-round action at the Lexus Surbiton Trophy. Also in action, defending champion Jordan Thompson ousted Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-4 in just one hour, seven minutes.
Eighth seed Christopher Eubanks and seventh seed Constant Lestienne both survived three-setters to advance Tuesday. The American Eubanks defeated countryman Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-3 and Lestienne moved past home hope Daniel Cox 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Three-time major champion Andy Murray will be in action Wednesday against Chinese #NextGenATP star Yunchaokete Bu.
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