Wimbledon 2016: Dan Evans seals victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov to set-up Roger Federer Centre Court showdown

Briton says it will be 'great experience' to play brilliant Swiss but is not there to roll over

Dan Evans celebrates his 7-6, (8/6), 6-4, 6-1 victory over 30th-seed Alexandr Dolgopolov (Getty)

A good week for the reformed characters of British men’s tennis got even better as Dan Evans equalled his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam tournament by reaching the third round here.

The 26-year-old from Birmingham, who had never won a match at the All England Club until this week, produced one of his best performances to beat the No 30 seed, Alexandr Dolgopolov, 7-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Evans’ prize will be a meeting on Friday with Roger Federer, which will take place just 48 hours after the seven-times Wimbledon champion ended the run of Evans’ good friend, Marcus Willis, another British player who admits his attitude has not always been all it could have been.

“It’s going to be a great, great experience - hopefully an even better one than most people think,” Evans said as he looked forward to his first encounter with Federer. “It’s going to be tough. I’m probably going to be in for some pain running around tomorrow, but it’s going to be enjoyable. I’ll enjoy every minute of it, whatever the score.”

Evans agreed that the win over Dolgopolov, a former world No 13, had been one of his best. Resuming at 6-6 in the first set after play had been called off the previous evening because of the weather, Evans won the tie-break 7-5 after the Ukrainian double-faulted.

The Briton served well, struck the ball confidently from the back of the court and attacked the net at the appropriate moments. He went a double break up in the second set before serving out for it at the second attempt. He went 3-0 up in the third before closing out his victory after an hour and 58 minutes.

“Yesterday was really difficult to play,” Evans said. “I felt good coming in today when it was dry and I could actually move pretty well on the court and use my strengths.

“It was a really good performance. I probably won’t realise how well I played until I watch it myself. It all happened pretty quickly. Before I knew it, it was over.”

In reaching the third round Evans has equalled his best performance at a Grand Slam event, when he enjoyed the best win of his career by beating Kei Nishikori, the world No 12, at the 2013 US Open.

Evans’ New York run ended in defeat to Tommy Robredo, who went on to play Federer in the next round. The Briton agreed that had been a missed opportunity. “I thought about it for a while after it happened,” he said. “I genuinely didn’t think I’d ever get another chance to play him.”

If Willis, the world No 772, wants an example of how to emerge from the depths he need look no further than Evans, who at this time last year was ranked No 763 after a knee injury restricted his appearances in the first half of 2015. He is now the world No 91. Even if he loses to Federer he is expected to climb about 20 places to a career-high position in the rankings at the end of the tournament.

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Evans has an even more chequered past than Willis, who as a junior was sent home from the Australian Open by the Lawn Tennis Association because of his poor attitude. Evans twice had his funding stopped by the LTA because of his off-court behaviour and lack of commitment.

When questioned three years ago about his failure to find the consistency to match his undoubted talent, he admitted he was “pretty bad at my job” and confessed that he did not train hard enough.

“When I was a bit younger, I don’t think I was ready to play professional tennis,” he said after his win. “I wasn’t ready for that commitment of day in, day out. It is a grind at times. Now I’m enjoying it. Don’t get me wrong. I do sometimes think: ‘God, it’s another day.’ But I’m just trying to stay positive all the time. There have been bad times in the last year, as well, where it hasn’t all been plain sailing. You’ve just got to keep going.”

He added: “I let a lot of people down. It was difficult to keep letting those guys down, seeing them disappointed in what I’d been doing. Gradually the message got through, but it took a few knocks at the door.”

Evans won back-to-back Futures tournaments at Frinton and Felixstowe immediately after losing in the third round of qualifying for Wimbledon last summer. This year he has won two Challenger tournaments and finished runner-up in two more.

“I’m not going to sit here and say I work unbelievably hard, harder than anyone,” Evans said. “I don’t. I just work hard day in, day out, as hard as I need to work. That’s what it’s been down to – doing the right stuff on and off the court.”

Next up for Dan Evans is the small matter of Roger Federer (Getty)

He added: “I still like a night out. It doesn’t change. I just do it at the right time. It’s been doing it day in, day out, trying to play as much tennis as possible. That’s all I can say really. That’s all I've done. It’s not been a special ‘this happened, that happened’. It’s been a gradual process. It’s been probably about a year and a half now. It’s been hard, but I've enjoyed it.”

Evans said that a number of British players had been proving the benefits of hard work. “I think this Wimbledon has opened the eyes to people that we’re actually pretty good at tennis,” he said. “Obviously Willis we all know about. Me. Alex Ward has done unbelievably well in the last few months. Liam Broady. We’re all pretty good tennis players. We’re all trying as hard as each other. I think British tennis is definitely going upwards.”

Asked if he had had a chance to have a conversation with Willis in the last couple of days, Evans said: “Are you kidding me? I don’t get a word out of him. He’s a celebrity now. He just looks at his phone. I spoke to him yesterday and it was like speaking to a brick wall.”

Would he be asking Willis for some advice on Federer? “No,” Evans smiled. “He lost in three straights. No advice needed.”

He said he would not follow Willis’ example in wearing a shirt bearing Federer’s “RF” logo. “I’m surprised the All England Club let him wear it, because it was slightly off-white,” Evans joked. “I don’t know how long he’s had it. I’ve shared a room with him. It might not have even been clean.”

Evans said he did not expect to fill his player box and would certainly not have the same raucous backing that Willis enjoyed on Centre Court. “We’re all polite from Solihull,” he said with a smile. “It’s not a day out for me. It’s a chance. It’s a good opportunity. I’m taking it seriously.

“I’m not going to go out there to be just another guy he rolls. I’m going to put up a good fight hopefully.”