Djoko wary of Evans grass-court ambush

After making a narrow escape from disaster as he rescued his first-round match against Alexandre Muller at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic is now preparing for a tough test from a grass-bred Brit.

But the seven-time champion Serb is taking No. 154 journeyman Dan Evans extremely seriously as he works to prevent an upset by the local.

Evans has the rare distinction of a positive record over Djokovic, defeating the 24-time Grand Slam champion in their only previous match on clay in Monte Carlo four years ago.

“He’s one of the guys that you don’t want to face on grass. But I look forward to a good challenge. Let’s see what happens,” the sixth seed said,

Djokovic had to battle a physical letdown after dominating the first set and a half against Muller on Tuesday and considers himself lucky that some mid-match tablets from the doctor did the trick.

But he is expecting to be cast as the villain in his second-round encounter with Evans.

“Playing obviously against a Brit in Britain, it’s never easy.   I have to be ready for a great battle. He uses his slice quite a lot and that favours the grass courts because the ball stays low. 

“He can serve and volley. He chips the ball, comes in, mixes up the pace.

“He’s really a tricky opponent to play against. You don’t want to have him in your draw really in the early rounds.”

After his first-round flirt with disaster, Djokovic called the Evans meeting “a good test. It’s a good test for both of us. 

“I think he’s been picking his form up and I think his  rankings are not doing justice (correct) at the moment.

“He’s been a really tough player to face on any surface. particularly the grass and quicker ones. This is always the talk of the locker room.”