Dan Evans has revealed that his friends back home always text him snidely asking about Sir Andy Murray and that he would never use the tennis star’s official title while playing. Evans is now returning to the UK after he and Murray were knocked out of the Olympic men’s doubles tournament at the quarter-final stage by American pair Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz.

The defeat at Roland Garros in Paris was Murray’s final match before retirement as the 37-year-old hangs up his racket after a stellar 19-year career. Evans was full of praise for his doubles partner and joined Gabby Agbonlahor and Andy Goldstein on talkSPORT’s Drivetime to discuss the team’s Olympic success.

While discussing the “Murray craze” that has taken the country by the duo’s appearance at the Olympics, Goldstein cheekily asked Evans: “Do you have to address him as ‘Sir’ when he plays?”

Evans laughed and replied, “You know, some of my friends text me all the time and say, ‘How are you, sir?’ I’ve never called him sir, and I don’t think we ever will.”

Murray was knighted while recovering from hip resurfacing surgery after winning Wimbledon title in 2019 and winning Olympic gold for the second time in his career. While Murray has an official title of ‘Sir’, Evans revealed that he has never addressed his teammate in a more honourable manner and has enjoyed his time in the spotlight alongside the Scottish star.

Evans also spoke about how happy he was to play second fiddle to Murray’s Olympic glory, despite being a doubles team in the tournament. Goldstein asked Evans: “The Murray craze has gone a bit crazy here, everybody wants you and him to get the gold medal. I mean, it’s literally taken over all the back pages. But I’d ask the question, the Murray craze – even though you hit the winning shot yesterday, the back pages are saying Murray did it again. Do you mind that? Do you mind that you’re not the one everyone’s talking about?”

Evans replied: “No, it would be foolish to think they’d talk about me, he’s Sir. He’s had an incredible career, so yes – I’m more than happy to play extra.”

Agbonlahor then intervened and praised Evans: “You do doubles too, you do your fair share too mate. It’s a team, right, so you deserve applause too mate.”

The 34-year-old dismissed any ill-will between himself and Murray, saying the 37-year-old’s opinion was the only one that bothered him during his run at the Olympics. He said: “Yes, he knows that, he’s fully aware of that and he’s the only one that matters. We work as a team on the pitch, you know, it doesn’t matter who gets the applause.

“It’s about coming home with something for Team GB and, you know, we’ve grown enough to know that we’re a team and that’s just for the press.”