After another successful week in what has been a superb season to date, British No. 3 Dan Evans said that one of his motivations is to repay the people who supported him during his 12-month ban for using recreational drugs.

On Sunday, Evans finished as runner-up at the ATP event in Delray Beach, Florida. The prize money was a handy US$52,495 (£40,117), yet his comment was not referring specifically to a financial debt. This is more about living up to the expectations of his loyal friends.

After Evans’s narrow 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 at the hands of Moldova’s Radu Albot, he was asked about the year he had been forced to spend away from the tennis court. “It was the worst time in my life,” he replied. “And it’s not just me. It would be selfish to think that it didn’t affect anyone else. Those people have been good to me and hopefully now I can repay it.

“Those feelings of anger and hurt of what you did to people don’t go away easily. You have to realise what I did to people and what I did to myself and the sport of tennis. It was a terrible thing.

“It’s over, that episode of my life. Everyone basically forgave me as soon as I held my hand up but it’s not easy to be happy with yourself day in and day out when the fact is that I was 40 in the world, and I threw it away. Having to start again from scratch was the hardest thing I have had to do.”