Daniel Evans, No. 51 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, needed some tennis clothes ahead of the Australian Open. So Evans, whose contract with his previous clothing supplier, Nike, had ended last December, did what any normal person would do: He went shopping.
“I just went to the store and bought a load of clothes the other day, plain clothes,” Evans said on Wednesday when asked about his fashion. The Brit had just beaten seventh seed Marin Cilic in the second round in Melbourne for the biggest win of his career.
The shirts at Uniqlo, his store of choice, cost him $19.99. He didn't recall how much the shorts were. “I didn't look. I just picked the shorts up. I was more worried about the shirts,” he said.
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After finishing as runner-up in the final of the Apia International Sydney (l. to Muller), Evans bought 18 shirts and returned to buy some more on Wednesday before his match against Cilic. He doesn't think he'll have to run that errand again, though.
“No, I only wore one shirt today,” he said on Wednesday. “I'm good until Friday. We're good.”
Evans' tennis has also been very good. The 26-year-old Brit matched his best Grand Slam result by beating Cilic and advancing to the third round Down Under. Before this week, the Birmingham native had never won a match at the season's first Grand Slam. Last year, during his debut as a qualifier, Evans fell to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in straight sets.
“I think I played as well as I can play today," said Evans, who next faces Aussie Bernard Tomic. "I was really pleased with how I played especially towards the end of the match... [it's] definitely [my] biggest win.”
