Dan Evans back in the spotlight at Queen's and he has a point to prove

The focus at the Queen’s Club has been on the return of one Briton, namely Andy Murray, as he makes his first tentative steps back to tennis.

Yet today, he could be playing at the same time as another Briton who is making his return to top-level tennis after a year away from the game.

There is less sympathy for Evans than there has been for Murray, as Evans’ year-long lay-off is the result of a ban for cocaine use at the height of his career. As he takes on Frenchman Adrian Mannarino the so-called bad boy of British tennis, once described as the “most egregious waste of talent”, has a point to prove.

While Murray has yet to test his repaired hip in competitive tennis, the wild card to Queen’s is Evans’ fifth tournament since completing his ban.

Murray has always paid close attention to all the British players around him and Evans has been among those invited to stay and train with the former world No1 in Miami.

But Evans knows there is work to be done to earn back the faith of Murray and the wider tennis world.

Murray (right, training yesterday) has made no secret of his disdain for drug use of any kind and did not hold back at the time of the ban.

He said: “He has let himself down and all of the people that help him. I’m sure his team and family will be extremely disappointed with what he’s done. He put himself in a position to do really well for the last few years of his career and he has blown that now.”

The LTA believes in second chances — although Evans, 28, will admit he has had plenty of those — and British Davis Cup captain Leon Smith has been in close contact plotting his return. It was telling that Smith watched from the stands as Evans got off to winning ways on his return against Ed Corrie away from the public gaze in the first round of qualifying at the Glasgow Trophy in April. The olive branch continues to be offered with this week’s Fever-Tree Championships wild card.

For his part, Evans knows there will be those that are not happy to see him playing in London this week.

“Obviously, I put people in a terribly awkward position and I can only say thank you to those people who backed my corner… to give me an equal chance at that wild card,” he said. “There will still be people who don’t think it’s the right decision.”

Evans has been contrite on his return, speaking at length about the error he made in taking cocaine, the subsequent fall-out, a year out of the game and days spent in front of daytime television.

At the time, former Davis Cup captain John Lloyd had asked: “How many chances does he get in his career?” And it is a fair question, his rap sheet including losing LTA funding twice, once reportedly for going clubbing in the early hours before a doubles match at junior Wimbledon.

But before the ban, such slip-ups appeared to be a thing of the past as he rose to 41 in the world, reached a first ATP Tour final and the fourth round of the Australian Open in the same year his career totally unravelled.

He said of the ban: “It happened, it’s been and gone. It’s a shocking drug and not just in sport. It’s terrible in life, it’s a life ruiner. It was an error of judgement. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done. It’s a shocking thing to do. It’s let down so many people.”