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Mother Nature has played a role in many professional tournaments over the years, but few have been as chaotic as the Open Nature Valley 2019.
What happened in Nottingham can only be described as unprecedented for the region, while the north of England suffered a flood of rain all week. Daniel Evans not only survived a draw, but also unpredictable weather conditions.
Sunday, the Briton celebrated his second title in as many weeks, extending his winning streak to 10 consecutive with an impressive win at the prestigious tournament. Evans defeated Evgeny Donskoy 7-6 (3), 6-3 in their first meeting in six years, after ousting Go Soeda earlier in the day.
"The week has been good and we have been vigorous since last week," said Evans. "I played very well in the first match [today]. The second game, I was a little frustrated and very tired. But I have not lost a race today, so I can not be too unhappy. I played well outside, despite the wind.
Watch Evans' interview …
"I think it's the best place in the world"
Hear from the news #NatureValleyOpen Champion Dan Evans pic.twitter.com/6x5WHQqhXY
– LTA (@the_LTA) June 16, 2019
This victory allowed the 29-year-old athlete to win a historic double on the field, having also triumphed at Surbiton a week ago. He joins Yen-Hsun Lu as the only player to win consecutive Challenger field titles in the last 20 years. Lu returned to Surbiton and Ilkley in 2016.
The incessant rain interrupted the game every day of the week, including a total break on Monday and an indoor move from Tuesday to Friday. And with a WTA Tour event also held at the Nottingham Tennis Center, the race was crazy all week.
In the end, Evans would win his quarterfinal on the grass Saturday, before defeating Soeda and Donskoy on Sunday. He wins seven places in 63rd place in the ATP rankings.
Evans turns out to be a force on the grass, using his flat ground shots and cutting a slice of the backhand to regain his upper form on the surface. A year after finishing runner-up to Alex de Minaur in Nottingham, he went even further on his floor. The native of Birmingham is the first British winner here since Greg Rusedski in 2003, while the tournament was held on the ATP circuit.
On Sunday, Evans won the Paul Hutchins Trophy, which owes its name to the longtime director of the Nottingham tournament and to the recently-retired British captain of the Davis Cup.
"It's amazing to be the first winner of the Paul Hutchins Trophy. He was part of my childhood growing up. He was here last year and he feels a bit empty without him this year. It was really good to win, and I hope that he has been watching over that. "
Evans will then visit the Queen's Club in London for the Fever-Tree Championships, an ATP 500 event. He opens against Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday.
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