British No.1 Dan Evans dropped just five games throughout his straight sets victory over Kyle Edmund to win the inaugural Battle of The Brits exhibition event on Sunday.
Evans, who hasn’t lost a single match during the week-long round-robin tournament, eased his way to a convincing 6-3, 6-2, win over the former Australian Open semi-finalist. Following up on his victory over Andy Murray the day prior. The world No.28 broke a weary looking Edmund three times in the first and second set to clinch the title after 78 minutes of play.
“I wasn’t sure how it would work out. Thanks to everyone who has worked on it, all the players have loved it – that’s the truth. Everyone has been raving about the tournament,” said Evans who also finished runner-up in the doubles.
Impressively the 30-year-old committed just three unforced errors on Sunday compared to his opponents tally of 20. Furthermore, he hit 13 winners and won 78% of his first service points. It is the first time Evans has scored a win over Edmund, however, it will not count in their official head-to-head as the London event is not sanctioned by the ATP or ITF.
Organised by Jamie Murray, the Battle of The Brits has raised at least £100,000 for the National Health Service and was broadcasted live by Amazon Prime. Despite it being a charity event, Edmund said it was similar to playing on the ATP Tour. Which has been suspended since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Thanks for this event, it was pretty much like a Tour event this week,” he commented.
“I didn’t think it would be this big but it turned out really well. The players all put in a big shift but those off of it put in a bigger one.
“The idea of the event in the pandemic, with the rules in place, was a success. Jamie made it as successful as possible.”
Prior to the final, the third place playoff took place but without one of the players who had qualified to play it. Former world No.1 Murray withdrew from his clash with Cameron Norrie due to ‘shin issues’ in what was a precautionary measure.
“This is by far the most I’ve done in the last seven months. My left shin has been an issue, it was a bit sore after my first match, then it was okay for a couple days then I felt it after I finished my match with Evo,” he told Amazon Prime.
Murray was replaced in the draw by James Ward, but still remained part of the match by acting as Ward’s coach throughout. Who lost 6-3, 7-5, to Norrie. A player ranked almost 200 places above him in the ATP rankings.
“I think I’m just returning well and serving well and if you can do those two things well then you’re going to play good,” Norrie said following the win.
Champion Evans will be hoping that he can carry his success onto the Tour when it resumes in August ahead of the US Open. This week he had won eight out of 10 sets played. The only players to take a set off him was Murray and world No.388 Ryan Peniston.
