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Britain’s Dan Evans played the last professional singles match of his career after losing to Tristan Sculket in the second round of Wimbledon qualifying.
The 36-year-old announced earlier this month that he would retire after the championships, which start on Monday.
Evans has dropped out of one of the eight singles wildcards, meaning he needs to win three matches in Roehampton this week to play in the final singles tournament at SW19.
But his singles career came to a disappointing end as he lost 7-5 6-0 in a match marred by problems with the electronic line calling system.
Evans will still play at Wimbledon after being given a wildcard into the men’s doubles with Henry Searle.
With the home crowd in Roehampton watching, Evans looked to be enjoying himself and playing with freedom during a tight first set against the Australian Sculket.
At 5-4 down, he entertained the fans with a brilliant forehand winner – hitting down the line after diving down the floor to reach a Skulket drop shot.
It earned him a standing ovation and he remained on the floor to celebrate, pretending to swim on the pristine green court.
However, it was Skulkett who won the opener before the second set was delayed by more than an hour when the electronic line calling system stopped working.
A spokesman for the All England Club said: “Part of our qualifying venue temporarily lost power, meaning the electronic line calling system was unable to function.”
When play finally resumed, Evans could not match Sculket’s level. He failed to win a game and after wrapping up the second set in 22 minutes, the world number 147 left the court dejected.
“It’s not an easy match-up. Dan is a fantastic player and I wish him all the best for the rest of his career,” Sculkett said.
“I’ve looked up to guys like him for a long time. A lot of tennis today is the same old, same old. Watching him, the way he gets around it, his slices are amazing, he’s a great competitor and a lot of young kids can learn a lot from Dan.”
Evans has won two ATP Tour-level singles tournaments, while he was part of the 2015 Davis Cup team that won Great Britain’s first title in 79 years.
In 2024, he sacrificed the 500 ranking points he had won at the Washington Open the previous year to partner Sir Andy Murray for his final tournament at the Paris Olympics.
As temperatures reached 34C in London on Wednesday and a red weather alert was issued, the ball was dropped by the children and replaced by members of the Court Service team, who are all adults.
