Dan Evans is never shy of giving an unsparing analysis, and applied that to himself after another defeat saw him make a despairing exit at Queen’s Club.
The sun shone in west London on Monday and there were home wins for Cam Norrie and Ryan Peniston, but the British No 2 was left wondering where his next win is coming from.
World No 25 Evans went out of the cinch Championships 6-4, 7-5 to American Sebastian Korda, serving seven double faults as negativity crowded in upon him.
He admitted his usual excitement about tackling Wimbledon was absent after a run of five losses in six matches.
‘I have to compete hard, a bit harder than I did today and be better mentally,’ said the 32-year-old Midlander.
Dan Evans said it was 'frustrating and also a little bit embarrassing' after falling to another loss
Five defeats in six matches have dampened Evans hopes for the Wimbledon Championships
‘But it’s becoming difficult to do that with the amount of losses. It’s frustrating and also a little bit embarrassing. It’s hard to see what I can do next. I’d love to say I’m looking forward to my next match but I’m not.
‘In comparison to when I played him at Wimbledon (in 2021), I don’t think he played particularly well. There were a lot of errors from him, but there were more from me. He was just a bit more solid than I was. What I pride myself on is being tough to beat, and I wasn’t tough to beat.’
Southend’s Peniston returned to the scene of his surprise quarter-final appearance from last year and defeated Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-2, which did Andy Murray a favour because the Frenchman is ranked one place above him at 37 in the shake-up for a Wimbledon seeding.
Ryan Peniston defeated Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round at the Queen's Club
The Scot plays today in the first round against Australian Alex De Minaur, knowing two wins this week should get him a privileged draw at the All England Club.
Peniston, 27, arrived back here ranked 265, having hurt his wrist during last year’s grass-court season.
‘I was out for six or seven weeks not doing anything, and the wrist injury lasted about four months in total,’ he said. ‘There were definitely low points, not being able to play the sport I love, it was tough. But I learned a lot.’
Before a packed house on the main court, Norrie was too strong for Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic and came through 6-4, 7-6.
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