Dan Evans branded his French Open defeat by Thanasi Kokkinakis “shocking” and hit out at officials for foot-faulting him at a key point in the first-round contest.
Evans finally won his first match at Roland Garros last year but could not achieve the same result here, going down 6-4 6-4 6-4 to big-hitting Kokkinakis – the player beaten by Andy Murray in an early morning Australian Open epic this year.
The British number two appeared to have turned the match around in the second set when he led 4-1 but, at 30-0 in the seventh game, he was foot-faulted for the unusual offence of his back foot crossing the centre line on serve by the line judge at the far end of the court.
Evans promptly lost four points in a row, slamming his water bottle to the ground in annoyance and earning a code violation, and he did not win another game in the set as the match slipped away.
The 33-year-old was clearly taken aback by the call, which he later said had never happened to him before.
“Disruptive, wrong, a few other things you could say about it,” said Evans. “It’s the game. But, once again, the players are held responsible, but the umpires and line judges are not held responsible. I’ll be getting fined, obviously, for breaking the water bottle.
“I obviously knew it was a rule but I tend to know where my feet are. It just totally threw me where I was then serving from. It was difficult from then on. I lost all trust in where my feet were. It’s a very minor thing, but it became a pretty big thing in my head.
“If they’re going to call that foot fault, it shouldn’t be from 35 metres away, from fence to fence through a net. That’s not the reason I lost, but I was right in the match at that point.”
Evans remains close to his highest ranking at 25 and has had some decent results this season, notably reaching the semi-finals on clay in Barcelona last month, but he has also lost his opening match at tournaments eight times and is currently on a four-match losing streak.
He will hope to turn things around on grass, where he has traditionally been strong, but he made no attempt to sugar-coat things.
“I’ve been very poor in the big tournaments this year,” he said. “Incredibly kind draw in Australia and I came through a few matches, but I’ve been poor in the Masters, one good tournament this year.
“I said the other day there’s some soul-searching. There will be plenty of that tonight.
“I’ve got to get on and try and get my game in a good spot. It’s shocking right now how I played today. The frustrating thing is I’m playing well in practice and then not putting it on the court.
“It’s a hard sport. That’s the bottom line. I’ve never missed a shot from inside the living room, and I’m guessing no one missed at home today. It’s just incredibly frustrating. I’ll keep going, trying, and get back practising.”
The defeat means Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper are the only British players left in the main singles draws, and Evans launched his latest broadside against the Lawn Tennis Association in his pre-tournament press conference on Friday, criticising the way young players are funded.
View this post on InstagramDavis Cup captain Leon Smith and LTA performance director Michael Bourne were both in the stands watching Evans, and he said: “The problem with it all is everybody takes it personally.
“It’s not anything personal. If you’re taking it personally, then maybe you’re guilty of what I’m saying. They were supporting me fine today.
“I voice my opinions because I want working-class kids to get the support they deserve. In any other sport, when people voice their opinions about a system, it goes forward, but, in tennis, because we’re so elitist in England, it doesn’t get put forward. I’m doing it for working-class people like I was.”
Nadal backed for dream Roland Garros send-off by Lopez
Rafael Nadal is unlikely to match Novak Djokovic's haul of 24 grand slam titles, but the Spaniard is capable of capping his remarkable career with one last Roland Garros triumph next year.
That is the opinion of Feliciano Lopez, who hopes to see Nadal overcome his injury woes to enjoy a triumphant send-off in 2024.
Nadal's total of 22 grand slam titles is only bettered by Djokovic among male players, with the Serbian matching Margaret Court's overall record by winning the US Open.
Djokovic has won three of four grand slams in 2023, with injuries leading Nadal to miss the last three majors after he was eliminated from the Australian Open by Mackenzie McDonald in January.
Nadal confirmed earlier this year that 2024 would "probably" be his last year on the tour, and former world number nine Lopez is desperate to see his compatriot go out on a high.
Asked if Nadal could add to his 14 French Open titles – a single-slam record – next year, Lopez told Stats Perform: "With Rafa, you never know, because he has shown on other occasions that he was able to come back stronger, even when he had significant injuries.
"It will depend a lot on how he feels physically, that will be key. I wouldn't be surprised to see him competing at a good level next year and I would love for him to say goodbye by winning Roland Garros.
"It would be a dream for me and many people to see him lift that cup once again.
"It is very difficult for me to talk about Rafa, because he has changed the way we see sport in Spain. Before Rafa we had great athletes, but none transcended sport the way he has.
"Rafa's figure in Spanish sport and in the lives of Spanish people… there will be none like him.
"There have been many joys that he has given us. He has given us examples in many situations outside of sports. There will be a before and after [Nadal] in Spanish sport."
While Nadal now looks highly unlikely to match the evergreen Djokovic for total grand slam titles, Lopez does not believe that will concern the 37-year-old.
"The issue of numbers and who is bigger than who fuels the media a lot," Lopez added. "At this moment in Rafa's life, I don't think he is thinking about that.
"With the numbers, we can see who won the most things, but that is not the question. I want him to return so he can compete again for one last year at the highest level.
"Hopefully he wins one or two more grand slams, but right now, his goal is to recover and be physically competitive.
"That is what Rafa needs and wants, because if he is not feeling well enough to compete, it will be very difficult for him to be able to play many tournaments next year."
'The numbers don't lie' – Djokovic hailed as greatest of all time by Lopez
Novak Djokovic is just one grand slam away from becoming the most decorated player in history and Feliciano Lopez believes "the numbers don't lie" when it comes to debating tennis' greatest.
Serbia's Djokovic equalled Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam triumphs after defeating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets at the US Open earlier in September.
That made the world number one, aged 36 years and 111 days at the time, the oldest winner of the men's singles title at the US Open.
It was also Djokovic's third major crown of 2023, winning a trio of grand slams in a calendar year for the fourth time in his career,
Davis Cup tournament director Lopez, who had previously hailed Djokovic for featuring at the "unique" competition, suggested no one in history compares with the 36-year-old.
Asked by Stats Perform if Djokovic was the GOAT – greatest of all time – Lopez said: "According to the numbers, yes. The numbers don't lie.
"If you look at the stats, Novak is the best. So, I mean, what can I say?
"I think the numbers are very clear, not only by the fact that he's won 24 slams, but also there are other numbers and other statistics that clearly show he's the best player who ever played the sport.
"According to the numbers, I cannot say anything different."
Djokovic triumphed at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open, only missing out on a clean sweep of the majors after losing the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz.
As for Djokovic's chances for more major success going forward, Lopez believes the sky is still the limit.
"It's very difficult to predict honestly, but as long as he's feeling physically strong I think it's clear that his will in the last three or four years is to keep winning grand slams," Lopez added.
"If he is able to sustain his physical condition for the next two years, I can fairly say that he can win, I don't know, two, three or four, but it's very difficult to say one number because this year, for example, he could have won all four.
"He won in Australia, he won in Paris, he was very close to winning Wimbledon because of that second-set tie-break, and he just won the US Open.
"You ask me how many grand slams you think he will win in the future when he just won three of them in the same year!
"I don't know, maybe three or four more is fair to say, but it's very difficult to predict."
Next season I’ll be back – Emma Raducanu out for rest of year through injury
Emma Raducanu has revealed she will be sidelined for the remainder of the year.
The 20-year-old Briton was forced to miss the recent US Open, as well as the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year, after undergoing operations on both wrists and one ankle at the beginning of May.
Raducanu, who fell out of the world’s top 200 this week, had hoped of an autumn comeback after she returned to the practice court last month.
But she told BBC Sport: “Next season I’ll be back. This season all the slams were finished so it was difficult to watch them go by but I was trying to stay in my lane as much as possible and keep focused on my recovery.”
Raducanu has been dogged by injuries since her 2021 US Open victory.
She has played only 10 matches this year and has failed to make it beyond the second round of any grand slam since her superb Flushing Meadows triumph.
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