Dan Evans wins the Battle of the Brits exhibition

British number one Dan Evans has won the Battle of the Brits exhibition tournament in Roehampton, after defeating Kyle Edmund 6-3 6-2.

The man from Birmingham looked far superior to the British number two and was given little trouble en route to the crown.

Evans has recorded five wins against top 20 players this year, and is currently ranked 11th in the ATP Race rankings which counts ATP points gained since January 1st.

The 30 year old is arguably playing the best tennis of his career and also made the doubles final, in which he and partner Lloyd Glasspool lost to tournament organiser Jamie Murray and Neil Skupski. In fact, Evans played in nine matches this week across singles and doubles.

The world number 28 won all five of his singles matches, and only dropped two sets along the way, including the first in a very closely fought semi final against Andy Murray, where Evans had to win a super tie break 10-8 for victory.

Kyle Edmund also had an impressive week, registering wins against British number three Cameron Norrie, and also beating former world number one Andy Murray in the round robin stage.

The behind closed doors tournament was organised by Jamie Murray and has been raising money for the NHS. Strict social distancing measures were in place, learning from the mistakes made in Croatia and Serbia at the Adria Tour, which saw Novak Djokovic and other players become infected with Covid-19 after following no such safety guidelines.

The singles draw was supposed to feature Britain’s top eight ranked players, however 18 year old Jack Draper had to withdraw due to an abdominal injury, meaning he was replaced by first reserve Ryan Peniston who is British number 11.

Jay Clarke also had to withdraw during the tournament, allowing youngster Paul Jubb to play two matches and earn a win against Peniston.

After the singles final Jamie Murray thanked all the staff and sponsors who helped make the event possible. He said: “It’s been a great week and a lot of fun, all the players really bought into the event

“It’s been great to put on a tennis event and bring people to a sense of normality.

“Hopefully we can get back to a normal tennis event soon.”

Singles champion Dan Evans also showed praise for the event. He said: “All the players have loved it and have been raving about the tournament.”

Now, for players such as Evans, Edmund, Norrie and Murray it will be time to turn their attention to the US Open, which is still scheduled to go ahead in August, but with strict guidelines in place.