(Reuters) – Britain’s Dan Evans said he would be “heartbroken” to test positive for COVID-19 ahead of Wimbledon in June and is eager to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Evans’ comments come after world number two Daniil Medvedev tested positive on Monday and was subsequently withdrawn from this week’s Monte Carlo Masters.
Some of the top players at the Miami Open recently expressed a reluctance to get vaccinated but Evans, Britain’s top ranked male player at No. 33, was not among them.
“I’m very eager to get vaccinated, if I can,” he told reporters on Tuesday after beating Dusan Lajovic at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo, his first Tour-level victory on clay in four years.
“It would be heartbreaking if I tested positive for Wimbledon.”
Evans said he had witnessed the celebrations back home to mark the reopening of England’s businesses after three months of lockdown but said he “won’t be socializing any time soon” to avoid getting infected.
Organisers of Wimbledon, which was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, have said players must stay at official hotels during the grasscourt Grand Slam as part of safety measures.
But Evans, who reached a career-high ranking of 26 in February, said he would not be against top players being given a “bit of leeway”.
“I would have no issues if some of the top guys were given a bit of leeway, past champions, where they can stay at a house,” said the 30-year-old. “I think they would be pretty responsible, not be out for dinner.
“It’s going to be a different Wimbledon … I don’t really know what to expect, but yet I’ll expect they’ll do a good job.”
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Peter Rutherford)
