DAN EVANS slammed the French Open balls as he crashed out, blasting: They’re so bad I wouldn’t give them to a dog!
The British No.1 lost 1-6 6-1 7-6 1-6 6-4 to Japan’s Kei Nishikori in a topsy-turvy first-round clash at Roland Garros.
The Birmingham ace smacked his racket in anger a few times and endured difficult windy, damp and gloomy conditions as he continued his winless streak in Paris.
The No.32 seed then became the latest player to slam the quality of the Wilson balls.
Evans said: “Some of those balls we were using you wouldn’t give to a dog to chew.
“The balls are the biggest thing. Maybe they got it a little wrong with the balls.
“It’s tough to get that ball to go anywhere. They’re a bit too heavy.”
Evans, who received a warning for an audible obscenity, has won only two of his five matches at Grand Slam level this year.
Covid-19 restrictions permitting, the 30-year-old will now focus on playing indoor hard courts in St. Petersburg, Vienna and Paris.
He said: “My performances have been pretty poor if we’re being totally honest.
“It’s a good effort but the end result was I lost in the first round. It’s a little disappointing.
“Today was a high-quality match. He’s a class player, so it’s extra difficult to put someone like him away. He kept fighting.
“One thing, I’d prefer the players’ hotel not to have outside people, if that would have been possible.
“It makes me a little nervous when I see the public in the hotel.
“That’s the only thing for me, Saturday night in Paris, as you can imagine, a pretty central hotel.
“There were a lot of people in our hotel. For me that’s not what I want to see in this situation personally.”
Italian teenager Jannik Sinner, 19, the youngest man in the singles draw, defeated No. 11 seed David Goffin 7-5 6-0 6-3 on his French Open debut.
