Barcelona Open: Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund through to second round
Dan Evans claimed his first ATP Tour win on clay at the Barcelona Open as fellow Briton Kyle Edmund also progressed to the second round.
World number 43 Evans took a final set tie-break against Thiago Monteiro of Brazil to triumph 6-7 (4) 6-2 7-6 (2).
His only two previous wins on the surface at tour level came in Davis Cup dead rubbers.
Edmund, the World number 42, brushed aside Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-4 and faces Austria’s Dominic Thiem next.
Evans, 26, will play Mischa Zverev, who beat Andy Murray at this year’s Australian Open, in the second round.
His most recent Davis Cup win on clay came in Rouen earlier this month as GB suffered a 3-0 quarter-final loss to France.
He was outplayed in his first Davis Cup singles rubber against Chardy, before beating Julien Benneteau in a dead rubber as the match descended into chaos.
Much of the build-up to the tie focused on Evans’ inexperience on clay and dislike for the surface.
British number two Edmund, who also lost to Chardy in the singles at the Davis Cup, exacted revenge on the world number 70 with an easy straight-sets victory in Barcelona.