Come on Dan the physios a blu nose! Break him

Dan

Heartbreaking for Dan and the 7-7 point in the tie break will haunt him (he has had problems with overheads all summer) but when he gets over the disappointment there are so many positives he can take from this. For me it is the best match he has ever played, perhaps not the most spectacular but the consistency, the defensive play, the amount of difficult moments he came through put it above so many of his other good performances. It really says it all that he reduced a 2 time grand slam champion to screaming "come on" at the top of his lungs repeatedly and desperately trying to whip the crowd up to support him more. Playing like this there is no reason at all why he can't thrive on the main tour and give himself plenty more opportunities to play in matches like this.

What a real shame. Sounds like Dan played a monster match and many times a defeat in those circumstances can be so much harder to take than getting beaten in straight sets. This may be one of those rare occasions where having DC the week after a slam may work in his favour as getting enveloped in a team environment may be the best way to overcome the disappointment and to move on.

It has been an excellent tournament for Dan and I hope he has proved to himself (if he needed to, that is) that he has the ability to compete with the very best in the world.

As a footnote, I notice he has withdrawn from the doubles with a "foot injury". I am sure this is only precautionary.

Bob in Spain wrote:

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Kyle at 64 in the live rankings looks pretty safe on that number. There are only three players below him that are still in the tournament. The two closest to him, Ryan Harrison and Jared Donaldson would both have to win two more rounds to catch him. Harrison would have to beat Baghdatis and then probably Monfils, while Donaldson would have to beat Karlovic and probably Nishikori. For me, the biggest threat though comes from Del Potro. He is much further behind, but as we know, he is capable of going deep into the tournament,

As for Evo, who is now at 52 in the live rankings, two of the three immediately below him prior to their R2 matches won as well. Chardy lost so is out of the picture. but Youzhny and Marchenlo still pose a threat and could overtake with just one more win. Youzhny plays Djokovic though so unless Nole is really injured, I only see one result there. As for Marchenko, he plays Kyrgios so who knows what will happen there. Of course Delpo could upset the apple cart as well with a SF appearance.

On the plus side, a win for Dan should see him into the Top 50 for the first time, although only just. The additional 90 points would have him at 49, with the same threats above still relevant. A victory for Kyle over Isner, would boost him about another 10 places to 54.

Whatever happens, it's exciting times for Brits at this level. Long may it continue.

And as an after thought, Kyle and Evo are giving Leon plenty to ponder, don't you think ?

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A live rankings update now has Evo at 53 and Kyle at 55.  They dropped one place overnight as Marchencko beat Kyrgios (by retirement).  The only player below them still left in the draw is DelPo who will overtake both if he makes the SF - unless of course Kyle takes out Djokovic and also goes on to the SF

 

Miriambee wrote:

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Bob in Spain wrote:

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What a real shame. Sounds like Dan played a monster match and many times a defeat in those circumstances can be so much harder to take than getting beaten in straight sets. This may be one of those rare occasions where having DC the week after a slam may work in his favour as getting enveloped in a team environment may be the best way to overcome the disappointment and to move on.

It has been an excellent tournament for Dan and I hope he has proved to himself (if he needed to, that is) that he has the ability to compete with the very best in the world.

As a footnote, I notice he has withdrawn from the doubles with a "foot injury". I am sure this is only precautionary.

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 Kyrgios out of singles with a foot injury, not Dan.

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I think Dan has the foot injury.  He was talking in his press conference about pulling out as a result of it, and that was BEFORE Kygrios played his match and retired with what I think was more of a hip injury.  In the end, I think they are both injured so probably best to play safe.

Dan has been saying that his foot is on ongoing problem that he has to manage.  Not a bad idea as he says to get away from everything for a week or so, just to switch off mentally.  At least he has found his passport.

I have no doubt he will be there for the DC though.

L32:  Kyle Edmund WR 84 defeated (20) John Isner (USA) WR 21 by 6-4 3-6 6-2 7-6(5) 

L32:  (3) Stan Wawrinka (SUI) WR 3 defeated Dan Evans WR 64 by 4-6 6-3 6-7(6) 7-6(8) 6-2 

L32:  (2) Andy Murray WR 2 defeated Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) WR 40 by 7-6(4) 5-7 6-2 6-3 

*****

L16:  (1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) WR 1 vs Kyle Edmund WR 84

Head-to-head:  0-1 (NoDjo beat Kyle by 3 & 3 in the last 64 of this year's Miami Masters)

L16:  (22) Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) WR 24 (CH = 8 in August 2014) vs (2) Andy Murray WR 2

Head-to-head:  6-3 (Dimi beat Andy in three sets in the last 32 of this year's Miami Masters.  Prior to that, Andy had a run of three last 16 wins on hard courts going back to the Paris Masters in 2014, the year in which Dimi had his other two wins [the Wimbledon quarter-finals & the semi-finals in Acapulco]).

A Kyle/Andy final would be nice...