Dan Evans has claimed Emma Raducanu’s US Open triumph “papered over the cracks” in British tennis with solely three singles gamers at this 12 months’s French Open. And the British No.2 launched a rare private assault on former LTA stat man Simon Timson - who's now efficiency director at Manchester City.

With Andy Murray preparing for the grasscourt season, Evans, Cam Norrie and Jack Draper are the one British singles gamers in the principle draw on the claycourt Slam after 10 misplaced in qualifying. Raducanu was eligible however is out after present process operations on each her wrists and ankles to depart no British ladies taking part in within the singles at a Major for the reason that 2009 US Open.

Raducanu’s 2021 New York appeared to herald a courageous new daybreak in British tennis however she remains to be British No.1 regardless of falling to world No.106.

“Has her success papered over the cracks? Yeah,” stated No.20 seed Evans. “We've been lucky, or they've been lucky that they had a Grand Slam champion and she was a very good tennis player but the rankings don't lie, do they? Men's or women's, the rankings don't lie. Men, not many of us playing qualies, not many in the main draw. I don't want to sound like a broken record. But there's way further to go than just the top players. It's from the bottom up.

We're in a massive, massive habit of sending people to college now. I don't think that massively helps. I think the grass last year really helped paper over some cracks as well. There were some good results but if you look at the players who did pretty good on the grass last year, who were wildcards etc, rankings don't lie. After the grass, there will be a bit of soul-searching I imagine, after their holidays and after the grass, obviously.”

In response, an LTA spokesperson stated: “Naturally we would have liked to see players progress from qualifying to main draw at Roland Garros this week. Despite this week’s results, we are making longer term progress - but there is more work to do before we consistently have the numbers we would like to see across all levels. That’s why we are investing in our junior players, staging more international competitions in this country and supporting players development whatever is the best route for them to reach the top of the game, including both professional and the college system routes. Of course we need to go further and want players moving up the rankings - but we do believe we are heading in the right direction.”

Evans, who claimed the 2 out of doors claycourts on the National Tennis Centre, had been “not fit for purpose”, served a one-year ban after testing optimistic for cocaine in 2017. He added: “You've got to work hard. I know what it's like to not work hard and what you get from that and I know what it's like to work hard and get decent rewards.”

The Aston Villa fan, 33, is used to sporting frustration and disappointment. But requested how he felt in regards to the state of British tennis, he claimed: “I could not give a s*** about it. If you've got acquired a man Simon Timson, who sat subsequent to me after I got here again from my drug ban and advised me: 'With all due respect to James Ward right here and Heather Watson, I put you three in the identical bracket. You are near ending your profession.' And I stated 'Thanks, man, that was that assembly.' And I appear to have performed all proper since that assembly. He despatched me to a psychologist, that was about it.

"That's what Simon Timson, who sat next to me after I came back from my drug ban and told me: 'With all due respect to James Ward here and Heather Watson, I put you three in the same bracket. You are close to finishing your career.' “And I said 'Thanks, man’. And I seem to have done all right since that meeting. He sent me to a psychologist, that was about it. He didn't know what he was watching.”

Timson worked as performance director at the LTA from 2016-20 before joining the Premier League champions.

Evans won his first-ever main draw match here last year and in the first round faces Thanasi Kokkinakis, the Aussie wildcard who lost a five-set epic to Murray in the second round of the Australian Open.

“I watched a bit of the start,” said the world No.24. “Kokkinakis is obviously very good in Australia, plays very good tennis but it's totally different circumstances. Clay court is probably his least favourite surface I imagine. It's going to be a good match, a tough match, but it's a match which I hopefully can win.”