Dan Evans suffered a huge setback in his Wimbledon preparations this weekend when he retired at Queen’s through injury.
Plenty of players have found the surfaces difficult at a number of grass court tournaments all over the world this week.
Social media has been awash with footage of players slipping and sliding on the green stuff – and it’s a cause for concern.
At Queen’s, Frances Tiafoe was forced to retire from a knee problem in his game, and Evans was forced to do the same on Tuesday.
He was level at one set apiece with Brandon Nakashima when he was forced to shake hands and admit defeat on the fitness front.
Now, former Davis Cup captain Leon Smith has delivered his verdict on whether Evans has a chance of playing at Wimbledon.
Leon Smith shares whether Dan Evans has a chance of playing at Wimbledon
It appears to be an injured knee that is causing Evans some discomfort and of all the different injuries, knees are not to be messed with.
As a result, it feels unlikely that Evans will play at SW19 if he’s not completely right with the problem.
Now, Smith has confirmed whether or not he thinks the 34-year-old has a chance of being involved at Wimbledon when it gets underway.
He told BBC Two: “He’s had his scan it’s not for us to say. It’s got to be the player. He has an injury in his knee so he is having to assess what way he goes with it.
“You get first assessment and second assessment over what may or may not be possible in the short term. He has to assess those options and make a decision on what is best.
“Wimbledon is still a chance, but it depends what route he wants to go down.”
Time is running out for Evans at Wimbledon
During a professional career that has lasted eight years and counting, Evans has won just two titles.
He’s struggled for consistency during his career and has never gone beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam.
Despite being 34 now he will still get a buzz from playing at Wimbledon and he won’t want to miss out this year.
Evans is currently the 59th-best player in world tennis and he’d be hoping to go beyond the third round at SW19 to claim a career-best.
It’s never nice to see a British player miss out on Wimbledon and Evans will want to bounce back from a disappointing showing last year.
As the 27th seed he was dumped out by Frenchman Quentin Halys in the first round and that will have disappointed him.
Now, Evans must discuss this latest injury with his team and decide whether or not he gives Wimbledon a go this year.
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