Dan Evans has said being told he wasn't good enough to practice
with Bernard Tomic inspired him to victory over the Australian in the
second-round of the US Open.
The British number three, ranked 179 in the world, recovered from a set and a break down to defeat Tomic 1-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.
Speaking after the win, Evans revealed he was due to practice with Tomic at the Masters tournament in Miami last year only to be told to leave by the Australian's father John.
"I was there playing qualifiers," said Evans. "His dad sort of fobbed me off and said I wasn't good enough to practise with him. I remembered that.
"We went to practice, it was all booked. I got to the court. His dad said, 'No, no, he's a qualifier, I'm not hitting with you.' It was a bit embarrassing."
Tomic, who is ranked 127 places higher than Evans at 52, said afterwards: "It wasn't nerves. I was pretty relaxed. He just played so slow, so strange, that I basically did what he did. I wasn't very good at it, was I?"
Evans defeated 11th seed Kei Nishikori in the first round after coming through three qualifying matches to take his place in the US Open for the first time in his career.
The 23-year-old from Birmingham is guaranteed a £60,000 payout for reaching the third round and will now face 19th seed Tommy Robredo from Spain.
The British number three, ranked 179 in the world, recovered from a set and a break down to defeat Tomic 1-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.
Speaking after the win, Evans revealed he was due to practice with Tomic at the Masters tournament in Miami last year only to be told to leave by the Australian's father John.
"I was there playing qualifiers," said Evans. "His dad sort of fobbed me off and said I wasn't good enough to practise with him. I remembered that.
"We went to practice, it was all booked. I got to the court. His dad said, 'No, no, he's a qualifier, I'm not hitting with you.' It was a bit embarrassing."
Tomic, who is ranked 127 places higher than Evans at 52, said afterwards: "It wasn't nerves. I was pretty relaxed. He just played so slow, so strange, that I basically did what he did. I wasn't very good at it, was I?"
Evans defeated 11th seed Kei Nishikori in the first round after coming through three qualifying matches to take his place in the US Open for the first time in his career.
The 23-year-old from Birmingham is guaranteed a £60,000 payout for reaching the third round and will now face 19th seed Tommy Robredo from Spain.