Roger Federer Cruises Past Dan Evans in Straight Sets at 2019 Australian Open

Roger Federer took care of business in the second round of the Australian Open as he defeated unseeded Dan Evans 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-3 in straight sets on Wednesday (Australian Eastern Time) at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

With the win, Federer reached the third round of a major for the 58th time in 59 tries dating back to the 2003 Wimbledon.

Evans gave Federer all he could handle and even pushed the 37-year-old to tiebreakers in the first two sets, but the 20-time major winner held on and cruised to victory in the third set for the win.

Still, Evans impressed with his performance, and his gutsy effort may have been the story of the match despite the loss.

It's not as if Evans, whom the Evening Standard listed as a large 12-1 underdog entering the match, was able to strike while Federer struggled. In fact, the 20-time major winner played well.

The duo played a very clean contest with only 31 unforced errors. The key difference turned out to be Federer's performance at the net, as he won 74 percent of his points there compared to 53 percent for Evans. He also unleashed 11 aces compared to Evans' four.

But Evans unleashed a few fantastic shots, namely this crosscourt backhand to level the second set at five games apiece:

Federer notably gave credit to his opponent after the match in an interview with Jim Courier:

He also referenced the specific difficulty in facing Evans (h/t Jose Morgado of the Diario Record and Mike Dickson of the Daily Mail):

Evans received positive remarks for his second-round work from numerous sources. Mike Hytner of The Guardian said that Evans "pushed [Federer] in both sets" and noted the match was "far, far from a walkover." Hytner also praised the "fight" with which Evans performed on Wednesday.

The Evening Standard wrote Evans put forth "an incredible performance," while BBC Sport tweeted that there was "a lot ... to be proud of."

However, Federer was simply too much for Evans on this day. Of note, this drop shot in the third set was one of his better moments of the match:

Federer eventually won the fourth game of the third set after overcoming a 40-0 deficit, and he then rolled to the win.

What's Next?

Federer will face unseeded Taylor Fritz in the round of 32 on Friday.