Dan Evans might need his prizemoney to buy some new gear

Daniel Evans of Great Britain celebrates after winning his third round match against Bernard Tomic. Photo / Getty Images.

Dan Evans is no fashionista.

The Brit said after his second round victory over Marin Cilic he was hoping to find a new kit sponsor because he was wearing a $20 shirt he bought in a Melbourne shop.

"I'm just out of contract with Nike. They didn't offer me another contract. I just went to the store and bought a load of clothes the other day, plain clothes - $19.99 the shirts are," Evans said, adding that he "didn't look" at how much his shorts cost.

"I was more worried about the shirts."

But he'll probably need to fork out another $20 following his win over Bernard Tomic on Friday night after he revealed he had a little bit of trouble with one of his new acquisitions.

"I'm happy with them at the minute," Evans said after the match. "One shrunk in the wash last time so I had to change it.

"I reckon they look alright."

So the 26-year-old is dynamite with a racquet, but not so good with a washing machine and dryer, it would seem.

Evans' kit contract lapsed in December, despite a breakthrough season for a player who once had a reputation for too much partying.

Evans, 26, broke into the top 100 - from 772 a year earlier - and he now sits at a career-high of 51, after reaching his first ATP Tour final this month in Sydney.

Wednesday's victory over Cilic was only his second against a top-10 player after he defeated Austria's Dominic Thiem, ranked eight, in the Sydney quarter-finals. His win over Tomic has only given more credibility to his improving reputation.

He eliminated Australia's last remaining men's contender 7-5 7-6 7-6 to reach the fourth round.

Evans lined up a round of 16 encounter with 2008 finalist and 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.

It is Evans' best grand slam result, having reached the third round of both the 2013 and 2016 US Opens and last year's Wimbledon.

"It was just tough. Bernie is difficult, he is unorthodox when he plays, he plays aggressive," Evans said. "I found it hard at the start but happy to have come through.
"I was just focusing on the end goal the whole time."

But Evans' profile remains low. After beating Cilic, he revealed that ex-England cricketer Kevin Pietersen had snubbed his request for a selfie when he saw him in Melbourne.

He said he had recovered from "dark times" at the tail-end of last season, after he failed to convert a match point against eventual winner Stan Wawrinka at the US Open and then suffered a series of disappointing defeats.

World No. 1 Andy Murray said Evans had been working hard and deserved his success.
"People mature at a different age and find what's important for them at different ages. I think now he's pretty focused on his tennis," he said.

"With the right people around him, he's doing really well. I'm really happy for him because he's a nice, nice guy. He's talented, he does work hard, he competes well. He deserves it."