Evans bows out at Wimbledon as British doubles teams make strong start

Dan Evans' professional tennis career came to an emotional close at Wimbledon on Wednesday, as the former British No. 1 and Henry Searle were beaten in the first round of the men's doubles.

Evans and Searle lost 6-2, 6-4 to ninth seeds Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, a result confirmed by both the LTA and BBC Sport. It brought down the curtain on a 20-year career that included two ATP Tour titles, a career-high ranking of world No. 21 and long service for Great Britain in Davis Cup and Olympic colours.

The 36-year-old had already announced that Wimbledon would be his final tournament. He did not appear in the singles main draw after missing out on a wildcard and losing in qualifying, so the doubles became his farewell stage at the All England Club.

While Evans' exit was the most poignant British storyline of day three, there was better news elsewhere in the doubles draw. Reigning Wimbledon champions Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool opened their title defence with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Mariano Navone and Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, according to the LTA's Wimbledon results update.

Top seeds Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara also moved into the second round, beating Terence Atmane and Luca Sanchez 7-5, 6-2. Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison had to work harder, recovering from a set down to defeat Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Mariano Kestelboim 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4.

There was also an all-British-flavoured result as David Stevenson and Marcus Willis defeated Joe Salisbury and Ariel Behar 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-3. Luke Johnson and Jan Zielinski, Ben Jones and Joshua Paris, and Johannus Monday and Harry Wendelken were among those to fall in opening-round doubles action.

The singles tournament continues to gather pace, with the second round under way and the first week beginning to separate the early contenders from the rest of the field. But for British tennis, Wednesday belonged largely to Evans: a player whose career was rarely quiet, often compelling, and ultimately significant far beyond one final doubles scoreline.