Dan Evans booked himself an all-British second round match with Cameron Norrie with a gutsy 7-6 (13-11), 7-5 win over South African Kevin Anderson at the San Diego Open.
The eighth seed overcame the 35-year-old Anderson after a marathon first set tiebreak, winning 7-6 (13-11), 7-5 in two hours and 18 minutes.
In a gritty performance Evans came back from 6-5, 7-6 and 11-10 in the first set to eventually triumph as both men went toe-to-toe.
“A little fortunate to come through that one,” Evans said afterwards.
Anderson won 88 per cent of his first serve points – Evans just 80 per cent, but the Brit edged it with second service points – 62 per cent to 56 per cent.
Evans has played Norrie once before on the ATP circuit, in the first round of this year’s Australian Open. Norrie won in four sets.
