Evans optimistic ahead of clay season after farcial Davis Cup rubber

Great Britain may have been knocked out of the Davis Cup, but Dan Evans says the experience of playing on clay so early in the season will stand him in good stead.

Evans won Britain's only match, beating Julien Benneteau 6-1 6-2 in Sunday's first dead rubber, before Jeremy Chardy downed Kyle Edmund 6-4 6-4 to round off a 4-1 win for France.

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The clay court season, running until the French Open in June, offers a different type of challenge to the hard courts which players enjoy most of the season.

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And Evans, who admits clay is far from his preferred surface, believes the early exposure will ensure he is in good shape ahead of the Monte-Carlo Masters.

"It is part of the job to play on clay so I will give it my best go, it is not the end of the world if I win or lose. I will have fun and see what happens," he said.

Great Britain's Dan Evans serves the ball to France's Julien Benneteau during the Davis Cup world group quarter-final match between France and Britain on April 8, 2017

Image credit: AFP

"We have got a few extra weeks on the clay, I come into Monte-Carlo with a few more matches under my belt so it has been fun.

"It was just good fun. I enjoyed the match, a good crowd came out to watch so it was great.

"Our fans come everywhere, they are great. They pay their hard-earned money to come and watch us and it is not cheap so to come out today and put on a show is for them rather than myself."

Fans were treated to a rather unusual sight during his match against Benneteau as Evans found himself on the wrong end of a 3v1 combination.

The match had no meaning and many believed it was a farce that they were even forced to play it, with the victory for France already assured.

Luckily for paying spectators the players found a way to liven things up as French captain Yannick Noah and Nicolas Mahut ran onto the pitch to team up with Benneteau.

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