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Evans came from behind to beat Popyrin 4-6 3-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(1) in
a thrilling third round contest that had the crowd going wild at
Court 17.
But one particular fan behind Evans' chair got a special mention
and was compared to Paine, who is known for his quips from
behind the stumps to unsettle batsmen. Paine has even apologised
in the past for what is known as sledging the opposition.
"It's always nice to beat an Aussie. I think I had Tim Paine
behind my chair in every change of end nattering away, an Aussie
behind me," Evans, who faces second seed Daniil Medvedev in the
next round, told reporters.
"It was like I had Tim Paine behind me. He obviously wasn't
here," Evans clarified with a laugh.
England renew their cricket rivalry with Australia in the Ashes
series later this year.
While Evans took a dig at the Australian cricket captain, he did
heap praise on their former skipper Ricky Ponting, saying his
book has inspired him in recent weeks.
"There's probably a bit of irony in this. I started reading
Ricky Ponting's book at the start of this trip," Evans said. "I
wasn't feeling great, it's been pretty inspirational,
motivational. I took a few things from that.
"He had some pretty tough times when he was captain. That's the
reason why I took to the book, because I'd been told about it."
Asked what he took from Ponting's book, Evans said: "I was low
on confidence. I think from his book, back yourself.
"It's obviously a very different game, but I just enjoyed it. I
took some things which I'll probably use now for the rest of my
career."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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