Dan Evans and Katie Boulter facing tough tasks as they seek to extend Australian Open stay

Dan Evans and Katie Boulter both have their work cut out as they fly the British flag in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Evans marked his return to grand slam tennis following his drugs ban with a victory over fellow qualifier Tatsuma Ito to earn a crack at two-time defending champion Roger Federer on Rod Laver Arena.

They have played twice before, in the third round of Wimbledon in 2016 and at the Hopman Cup the following January, with Federer winning comfortably both times.

Like Federer, Evans has a game for the purists, and the Swiss is happy to see him back in the sport.

He said of their Wimbledon meeting: “I remember playing well. I remember the match more when I played against him at the Hopman Cup. I think it was my first match back after the knee issue.

“It was a good match. I liked the way he played. He’s got all the shots. Likes to take chances, takes the ball early. It’s nice to see him back on the tour as well. I’m happy for him that he won his first round.”

Evans’ ranking will rise to around 160 as a result of his three qualifying wins and the Ito victory and, although the 28-year-old admits he is still not yet back to playing his very best, seven-time grand slam singles champion Mats Wilander believes he can cause an upset.

The Eurosport pundit said: “I think he can go back to the level he was at, and beyond, because he’s talented and he’s had a slap on the wrist, due to his irresponsible behaviour, but he’s a human being and he’s allowed to make a mistake, or two, as long as he learns from them.

“The level of his talent and the understanding of the game, plus his speed, is a major advantage with the way the game is heading. Power is big, but movement is essential, and he is as quick as anyone.

“I would say he goes into the match with really high confidence thinking he has a chance to win the match. He has nothing to lose.”

Boulter produced arguably the most impressive display of her career to defeat former Australian Open semi-finalist Ekaterina Makarova in a deciding tie-break.

The 22-year-old, who now faces 11th seed Aryna Sabalenka, has continued her fine form from a breakthrough 2018 and is determined to keep progressing.

She said: “I put so much hard work in last year to get to this point right here. I’m going to stay focused on the right things, I’m not going to be thinking about winning or losing, I’m just going to do the same thing every day for the next year, put everything I have out, and hopefully it goes the right way and if it doesn’t then I’ll learn from it and I’ll get better.”

Sabalenka has had an even more rapid rise and almost cannot be considered a dark horse for the title so hyped have her chances been.

The 20-year-old Belarusian is a fearsome – and noisy – competitor on court but a very different character off it, joking she is enjoying the extra attention because it helps her improve her English.

Unfortunately for Boulter, Sabalenka is unlikely to get carried away, saying: “It’s nice to hear but I don’t want to think about the title, I want to think about each match because when you think about the title you get crazy because you don’t really respect the opponents.”

PA