Dan Evans will be thinking that Carlos Alcaraz is human and “does exactly the same as what all of us do in the morning” when he takes on the world No 1 at the US Open on Saturday. The British No 2 knows the defending champion is not perfect after playing golf with the Spaniard during Wimbledon.
“His strength as a golfer was his coach,” Evans laughed. Getting a result off the Wimbledon winner in New York will be a much bigger shock at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. But Evans beat Novak Djokovic on clay when the Serbian superstar was top of the world rankings at Monte Carlo in 2021.
And the world No 28 will take the same aggressive attitude into facing the 20-year-old super kid – the youngest male top seed at the US Open. “When I play on the tour, I don’t think about what ranking people are,” said Evans.
“I genuinely don’t. They’re normal people. To put it frankly they do exactly the same as what all of us do in the morning when they get out of bed. They’re very good at the sport but they still get nervous, they deal with it better than us. That’s what’s helped me when I’ve played better players.
“Alcaraz is an unbelievable player but what’s the point of me going out there and thinking he’s the No 1 in the world, you’ve no right to beat him. What is important is realising they’re very good at what they do, but they’re still human, they are still nervous, they just deal with it a bit better on occasions.
“I won’t be thinking when I’m out there: ‘He’s No.1 in the world, I can’t win this match’. I have to go out and hope I can put my game on the court and get myself into a good position. He will obviously be the overwhelming favourite.
“It’s a good opportunity to play a very good tennis player on a big stage. That is why you play tennis. I am really looking forward to it and will play aggressively. There’s been a few upsets on that court before.”
Alcaraz has won their two tennis matches in straight sets, including in the semi-finals at Barcelona in April. But the last time the two played was on the fairways of Royal Wimbledon when Alcaraz and his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero asked to join Evans and Jonny O’Mara.
“We played eight holes and they played well,” said four-handicapper Evans. “Ferrero is better. He has spent his retirement wisely that is for sure. We definitely can’t half on Saturday night like we did then so we will see.
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“His strength as a golfer was his coach – he talked him through the match pretty much. Just like on the tennis court. Carlos hits it a long way. He hits his long irons pretty good.”
Alcaraz laughed. “Of course, his golf is much better than mine, that’s for sure. But we could play a little bit before Wimbledon. We had such a great time at the course.”
While Aston Villa shirts have been spotted in the stands here in support of Evans, Alcaraz is a Real Madrid supporter – and already a big fan of Jude Bellingham.
“He’s such a great, talented player, one of the best in the world,” said the Spaniard. “I’m sure that he’s going to be the best player in the world in that position. I’m just really, really happy to have him in the team. I talk a little bit with him. He’s such a great person, as well. He’s a complete guy.”
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