British number four Dan Evans knocked out of Madrid Open in straight sets defeat to Robin Haase

Evans, ranked 58th in the world, struggled to gain a foothold after making a poor start in both sets, with world number 45 Haase winning 7-5 6-2

Dan Evans is out of the Madrid Open after defeat in the first round (Getty)

British number four Dan Evans was knocked out of the Mutua Madrid Open in the first round on Monday as he suffered a straight-sets defeat to Dutchman Robin Haase.

Evans, ranked 58th in the world, struggled to gain a foothold after making a poor start in both sets, with world number 45 Haase winning 7-5 6-2 in one hour and 19 minutes.

Evans only registered the first two ATP Tour wins on clay of his career last month at the Barcelona Open.

He showed some encouraging signs here in what was a maiden meeting with Haase, but ultimately it was an inadequate display from the 26-year-old from Birmingham.

Things began badly as his serve was broken in the opening game of the contest. Evans subsequently managed to hit back with a break to level at 5-5, only to be broken again immediately before Haase, 30, served out the first set.

It was then an even worse start to the second set than the first for Evans, with him losing his first two service games, and, after establishing a 4-0 lead, Haase had little trouble wrapping things up.

PA