And Evans from England lost to Karen Khachanov Russia in the first round of the Dubai fee free tennis championship.
Evans, who received Wildcard for the tournament, has won all five of their previous meetings, including the classic five and a half hours on the US Open last year.
However, the world number 24 Khachanov won 6-1 6-3 in one hour 20 minutes.
He will face Greek’s fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Lorenzo Sonego from Italy in the second half.
