Dan Evans vows to ‘worry’ returning Roger Federer

Dan Evans will have the distinction of being the first opponent for practice partner Roger Federer when the 20-time grand slam champion makes his comeback in Doha on Wednesday.

Federer, who has a bye through to the second round, is playing in his first tournament since last year’s Australian Open after two knee operations.

He has been training with Evans in Dubai in preparation for his return to the tour and the British number one will get the chance to use that inside knowledge when they meet in the second round.

Evans played his first match on Tuesday since an opening-round loss at the Australian Open a month ago and had to dig deep to claim a 6-4 1-6 6-2 victory over in-form Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

The tennis world will be watching to see what shape Federer is in, and Evans said of their practice sessions: “I thought he was playing pretty well. We played plenty of sets and it was competitive.

Read AlsoRoger Federer drops out from top-5 after two years

“But it’s all very different when you get on the match court, as I found out today. I wasn’t perfect out there and I’ve been playing pretty well in practice. It will be a lot different tomorrow.”

Federer was among the spectators in the stands for part of the match, which drew a typically self-deprecating response from Evans.