Wimbledon is less than two weeks from getting underway, with the announcement of wildcards still yet to be announced.
Top seeds Jannik Sinner and defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz are already confirmed to be playing at SW19.
However, there have also been some big name withdrawals including a former major finalist.
While he has not officially pulled out of the tournament just yet, Nick Kyrgios is also set to miss Wimbledon this year due to injury.
However, there is a former top 25 ranked player who is hoping to receive a wildcard to play Wimbledon.
Dan Evans thinks he has a good shot of getting a Wimbledon wildcard
That player is Dan Evans, who is currently ranked at world number 199 after a drop off in form in the past 12 months.
Evans has reached the third round at Wimbledon on three occasions, and has a career-high ranking of world number 21.
However, due to his current ranking he is required to play qualifying unless he receives a wildcard for Wimbledon.
After Evans beat seventh seed Frances Tiafoe in his first round match at the Queen’s Club Championships, he was asked in his post-match press conference about whether he thinks he deserves a wildcard.
The 35-year-old is the second highest ranked British man not to have direct entry into the main draw, and appears to be confident about his chances of getting a wildcard.
“I would hope the past 15 years has given me a shot at a wildcard,” said Evans. “Not just at Wimbledon but I think in other events here.
“You know, I obviously really want to play Wimbledon. I really enjoy playing all these events, but it’s not just — you know, I’m the first to harp on about the wildcards. It’s not just about one week or one match. It’s about what you do 52 weeks of the year.
“Tennis is not just about the grass court season in Britain. It’s great that we’ve got an amazing set of events, but there is other tournaments, and I haven’t been good enough at those other tournaments, but I’ve still been professional, still train day in, day out, so I hope that’s enough to get me a wildcard. If not, I’ll go through quallies (qualifying).
“But I’m pretty confident I have a shot at getting a wildcard. And so should a few other people. Other people have had great years, and hopefully the Brits get them.”
This is an opinion that has changed for Evans, who previously claimed that he would not want a wildcard.
When asked about why he has altered his stance, Evans suggested that he did not think there were any younger players he would be taking a wildcard from this year.
“Yeah, it’s all in context.,” said Evans. “I didn’t want to take a wildcard off a younger guy, but I don’t think any younger players have been ripping up stumps to knock me out of the wildcard spot.
“So I think I’ve got a good shot again. If I don’t, yeah, I respect the All England Club. It’s an amazing tournament, and they might go for younger people, which is perfectly fine. If they don’t, I’ve got a chance, yeah.”
Evans, who has not won a singles match at Wimbledon since 2021, will find out his wildcard fate on Wednesday, June 18.
Dan Evans explains how he felt after beating Frances Tiafoe at Queen’s
Evans’ aforementioned victory over Tiafoe at Queen’s was just his second victory on the main ATP Tour this year.
It was also his highest ranked victory since September 2023, and he has now revealed what emotions he was feeling on the newly named Andy Murray Arena at the Queen’s Club.
“No, I was emotional,” admitted Evans. “Yeah, it’s been a long time since I played that sort of level, and I was really excited to play here. But the closer it gets to the match, and you start to realise you need to perform, yeah, I was just really happy.
“I was really conscious to take, like, when I’d win the match to sort of take it in and not, yeah, just take a minute before I really, you know, let go. So, yeah, it was an important match. Yeah, it meant a lot.”
Evans will now move on to his second round match at Queen’s, where he will play either Brandon Nakashima or Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
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