We may only be 10 days into the new year, but Dan Evans has shown the tennis world exactly why he was once considered such a hot commodity for British Tennis.When discussing a potential shot of the year, these conversations usually involve something eccentric from Dustin Brown, a Gael Monfils crowd-raiser, or even something cheeky from Nick Kyrgios, but it's Birmingham's own who has today's headlines.During the qualifiers for the Australian Open, Evans led Jurij Rodionov by four sets to two in the first set, when the Austrian served up a tough shot towards the centre of the baseline, Evans' return put him under increased pressure and set up Rodionov for what looked an easy point, before the 28-year-old's acrobatic pirouette-like backhand left his opponent and the crowd stunned.As you can see below, it is pretty special:
The Brit eventually came through the qualifier with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to take one step closer towards Monday's main draw.
Evans has always been an exciting talent, in 2017 he reached his first (and only) ATP Tour final, before losing to Giles Muller in the Sydney International final.
The Brummie's run en route to the final would be historic, however, as Evans became the first Englishman in 11 years to reach an ATP final since Tim Henman in 2006.
At the time, it seemed as if British Tennis had found the heir to Andy Murray, which they so desperately needed at the time, with the Scotsman's increasing injuring problems. Those hopes wouldn't come to fruition, however, as Evans tested positive for cocaine in April and was subsequently banned for one year.
Having returned to the tour early last year, it was always going to be a struggle for Evans in regaining his top performances, but his emphatic run so far in the Australian Open qualifiers means that he is now one win away from the main draw.
Evans is looking to join fellow Brits Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund, Cameron Norrie, Johanna Konta, Heather Watson and Katie Boulter in the main draw, with 22-year-old Harriet Dart also on the fringes of the first round.