Australian Open: Dan Evans through but Heather Watson out in Melbourne

Dan EvansGetty Images

Dan Evans's best run at the Australian Open came in 2017 when he reached the last 16

By Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport at Melbourne Park

Britain's Dan Evans is through to the third round of the Australian Open after opponent Arthur Rinderknech withdrew with a wrist injury.

Evans, 31, had been set to face the Frenchman on Thursday but received a walkover prior to the start of play.

Evans, who is seeded 24th, will face ninth seed Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada on Saturday.

Fellow Briton Heather Watson is out after losing 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek.

The pair played in Adelaide last week and Watson, who is ranked 94th in the world, was again on the wrong side of the scoreline.

Getty Images

On her 11th appearance at Melbourne Park, Heather Watson was aiming to reach the third round for the second time

Watson lost in a tight three-setter at the WTA event and it was another close contest between the pair at Melbourne Park.

The 29-year-old Briton twice lost serve against her 24th-seeded opponent in the opening set, but broke immediately back each time to force the tie-breaker.

After Zidansek edged that, Watson broke for a 2-1 lead in the second but could not hang on to the advantage.

A double fault from the Briton left French Open semi-finalist Zidansek serving for the match and, although she could not complete victory there, she broke Watson again for a straight-set win.

Clean sweep for Brits in doubles

Following on from Wednesday's strong showing from all British participation in doubles, there were two more wins to make it a clean sweep into the second round.

The all British pairing of Dominic Inglot and Ken Skupski came from a set down to beat Tallon Griekspoor from the Netherlands and his Italian partner Andrea Vavassori 4-6 6-3 6-4.

Jonny O'Mara and his Belarusian partner Andrei Vasilevski beat Mackenzie McDonald from the USA and Australia's John Millman 6-2 6-2.

Related Topics