No more Mr Nike guy, but Evans isn't shirt of belief

Britain's Dan Evans said he was hoping to find a new kit sponsor after he reached the third round of the Australian Open wearing a $15 shirt he bought in a Melbourne shop.

Evans revealed his shopping trip after he stunned world No 7 Marin Cilic to equal his best Grand Slam run and set up a tantalizing match with Bernard Tomic.

"My contract with Nike has just run out and they didn't offer me another one, so I just went to the store and bought a load of clothes the other day," Evans said.

"The shirts were 20 Australian dollars, but I didn't look how much the shorts cost. I was more worried about the shirts."

Evans' deal with Nike expired last month, despite a breakthrough season for a player who once had a reputation for too much partying.

The 26-year-old broke into the top 100 - from No 772 a year earlier - and now sits at a career-high No 51 after reaching his first ATP Tour final in Sydney two weeks ago.

Wednesday's victory over Cilic was only his second against a top-10 player after he beat Austria's Dominic Thiem, ranked eighth, in the Sydney quarterfinals.

But Evans' profile remains low.

After beating Cilic, he revealed that former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen snubbed his request for a selfie when he saw him in Melbourne.

Evans said he had recovered from "dark times" at the end of last season after he failed to convert a match point against eventual winner Stan Wawrinka at the US Open and then endured a series of disappointing losses.

Friday's match up with Australian Tomic has an edge to it after an incident in 2012, when Tomic's father refused to let Evans practice with his son, saying he wasn't good enough.

Evans subsequently beat Tomic at the US Open a year later, although both players say they are now on friendly terms.

"I don't honestly know what happened there," Tomic said of the 2012 dispute. "But me and Daniel are good friends and I respect him."

World No 1 Andy Murray said Evans is working hard and deserved his success.

"People mature at different ages and they find what's important to them at different ages. I think now he's pretty focused on his tennis," said Murray.

"With the right people around him, he's doing really well.

"I'm really happy for him because he's a very nice guy. He's talented, he works hard and he competes well. He deserves it."