Yes, gawd knows how frustrating it must be for these who invest time and effort into Evo if a fraction of what many are thinking ( and have thought ) is indeed true. The LTA has often had criticism in the past for let's say a lack of empathy. They ( and Leon it seems particularly ) seem to have been great over recent times with Evo, and he did seem to be giving back.

I mean I found it frustrating myself having got solidly behind Evo working away at US Challengers after the US Open, feeling he was showing good attitude and resolve against pretty decent opponents without quite getting the results, and saying I was pleased to see that he was going to move onto a set of Asian Challengers.

The next thing was he was pulling out of Asia after one week ( and disappointing result ) with a forum poster telling us that he was basically burnt out for the season. Hmm, a bit strange thought I, but maybe he did need a break and I looked forward to him having a good, productive close season and come out ready to progress further in the new year.

Now this year has started as it has ( and actually the Australian Open tennis part wasn't that bad ).

Too many things seem to happen with this very talented guy that his ( I think dwindling ) apologists must surely be beginning to feel some of the frustrations of so many others. Not that I won't be amazed to see someone pop in to exclaim that this is all hypothetical and noone here knows the truth.

Evo played very well in the period before the US Open, at the US Open and as I said not badly immediately afterwards. This was no statistical deviation from the norm, what it was was a very talented tennis player at last showing for a bit more sustained period what he had shown in flashes before.

Unfortunately, the guy is a walking disaster area with what goes on or doesn't go on in his head. When he's back in the UK, he needs to pull out some of those tapes from last year where he talked apparently so honestly ( almost movingly ) about how he recognised that he had been wasting his talents, lacking the necessary dedication and letting folk down, but finally the messages had got through. I was in here posting with many others that it was great to hear and how we looked forward to the "new" Dan and behold we were seeing it at the US Open. Has a look of can't cope with failure, can't cope with success, can't cope with building a career.

When Evo came out with these comments ( I believe after the Russia Davis Cup win ), as many said he was still a young man, and had time still on his side and he could maybe almost now use the recognition of wasted time to his advantage.

Well now we are into the next year and the signs are not good. Get out these tapes Dan, reflect on them and reflect that time does move on. Don't let it leave you behind !

Yes, he himself will possibly end up being the one with most sorrow for eventually there may be many others who frankly don't give a ****.

I feel for Mr Evans. Whatever the case in this particular event (and as Steven points out, we don't know the full facts), it continues to illustrate the problem of being, at least until recently, the second-most-gifted GB player at a time where we want to be so much more than we are. If a decent Challenger-level player with the potential to be top 100 wasn't applying himself fully in, say, France or Spain, would it be the topic of such anguish? No. People would recognise that some people are temperamentally gifted with a desire to succeed, and some aren't. We all know that Mr Evans combines exceptional athletic gifts with a distinct ambivalence about the dedication needed to use them. That's his set of issues to resolve; it's just misfortune that it gets played out on the national stage.

It is quite probable that some of the very qualities that frustrate tennis fans - his preference for being with his friends rather than undergoing the rigours of training and playing in foreign places, for example - mean that he has a tight-knit community to which to return, where he will be able to live an ordinary life and occasionally regale people in the future with the stories of his tremendous DC moments, and no one will really care about what he could have been. And maybe he won't either. Which is, provided he's doing something useful in another context, every bit as legitimate as giving his all to becoming a tennis player. It's just a game, after all.

What's not fair in anyone's case is to waste other people's resources or their time and good will, and to behave in ways that generally don't show responsibility and good judgement. I can't really judge whether Mr Evans does this or not, though many clearly think he does. If he does, though, is it fair to wonder whether being freed from the burdens of expectations in tennis (which have a lot to do with factors extrinsic to him, and which have been placed on him since he was a young teen) he might find the scope to develop or manifest precisely those qualities of responsibility, professionalism, and gratitude that we'd all like to see in ourselves and others (and so often don't ... on all fronts). At any rate, that's one for him to work out with the people involved. For myself, I just hope for him (as for anyone) that "the sinner has a future," whatever sphere it's in.

(NB: I assume that most people reading this board know that the quote relates to Mr Evans' tattoo ... but articulating it just in case!)

-- Edited by Spectator on Thursday 23rd of January 2014 07:39:05 AM

-- Edited by Spectator on Thursday 23rd of January 2014 10:16:35 AM