THERE are two Dan Evans.
The naturally-gifted tennis player, and the naturally sociable bloke with a drink in his hand and a glint in his eye.
It is fun to spend time with both, and you will never be able to have one without the other.
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But at the age of 26, Evo is finding the right balance between them… as shown by his brilliant victory over Bernard Tomic at the Australian Open.
The likeable Brummie likes a night out and always will.
For the last 18 months, though, Evans has been giving himself good reason to hit the town and doing it, for the most part, at the right times.
It says a lot about just how talented a player he is that the British No 3’s victory over No 7 seed Marin Cilic in the second round didn’t feel like a massive shock.
Everyone has known for years that he has the talent to beat top 10 players – that’s two in a week now, by the way, after Dominic Thiem in Sydney.
But since hitting a career lowpoint when he slipped to No 772 in the world rankings in May 2015, Evans has finally been putting in the commitment off the court to ensure he makes the most of that talent.
Working with a fitness coach in his hometown of Birmingham by the name of Ash – Evans chuckled when he couldn’t remember Ash’s surname when we chatted last summer – Evans built up the fitness and stamina you need to perform week in, week out.
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Then he hit the road, playing in the kind of low-profile tournaments in far-flung locations which he used to avoid in favour of staying at home and going out with his mates.
It felt symbolic that Evans cracked the world’s top 100 for the first time in May 2016 by winning a title in Taiwan where, he said with a grin, he celebrated with nothing stronger than a plate of teppinyaki.
At Queen’s last year, he told me he had grown tired of letting other people down, particularly electrician dad David.
The death from cancer in April 2016 of his former coach Julien Hoferlin, one of many to try and fail to help him fulfil his potential, also helped to keep him focused.
Current coach Mark Hilton also deserves a huge amount of credit for Evans’ success, but the biggest factor has been the man himself.
He is fitter in mind and body than he has ever been, and a place in the world’s top 50 and the third round of the Australian Open are the latest rewards.
That’s not to say Evo has forgotten how to party like it’s 2013.
That was the year he hit New York hard following his US Open third round defeat and, a few weeks later, led some memorable celebrations of Great Britain’s Davis Cup victory over Croatia by the hotel pool in Umag.
He just doesn’t let it interfere with his tennis any more.
You’d still pick Andy Murray if you needed a Brit to play tennis to save your life.
And you’d still choose Evo for a night out.
But now you’re much more likely to be toasting his triumphs than helping him drown his sorrows.
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