Dan Evans in angry outburst over player welfare amid fears of injury on wet grass at Wimbledon

Dan Evans has claimed that Wimbledon staff “don’t care about the players” after suggesting he was risking injury on wet grass on Court 12 on Tuesday.

Evans, trailing by a set to Alejandro Tabilo before his match was suspended due to fading light, launched a tirade at the court supervisor in the second set.

“I’ve already been hurt on a wet court this season, I’m not willing to do it again,” the Briton said, later adding: “You don’t care about the players.”

With rain interruptions earlier in the day, Evans had been left waiting beyond 7.30pm to take to the court, prompting some to suggest his match could have been moved to Court 1, which had been empty for an hour. The All England Club said order of play had been fulfilled on No 1, however, so moving the match was never an option.

Evans’ paranoia about slipping over stems from a nasty fall at Queen’s Club last month. He had said at the time he was “heartbroken” as it was initially in serious doubt that he would make Wimbledon and potentially even the Olympic Games in Paris.

Evans had hurt his knee in a first-round match against United States player Brandon Nakashima with the score level at one set apiece.

As he resumed his first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday, Evans and Tabilo were 3-3 in the second set after the Chilean took the opening set 6-2.

Evans, the world No 61, had only returned to practice last Wednesday, just eight days after suffering the injury.

”My knee is in a good stable structure,” Evans had said on the weekend, having spent “a lot of time” in the gym and swimming pool to regain fitness.

”There is no risk of aggravating it, unless I slipped again. That would be a bit of an issue.”