Late pull-out Emma Raducanu should have been fully committed to playing with Andy Murray, writes his Olympics partner DAN EVANS

It was a privilege to be invited onto the court for Andy Murray’s farewell presentation at Wimbledon. I had just finished my doubles match when Tim Henman asked a few of us to come to Centre Court.

Sue Barker was on hand to say a few words, just as she had at the start of his career, and she struck the perfect tone. In many ways it was fitting that Andy’s final Wimbledon match with his brother was on Centre Court – where he had so often captivated the nation.

There was no chance to share a beer afterwards, because Andy expected to play doubles with Emma Radacanu for the weekend. He was warming up. Knowing Andy, he will remain that top professional until the bitter end. He will not risk anything by not recovering properly and he wanted to be in the best possible shape for the mixed doubles.

It’s just a shame how it went, with Emma pulling out a few hours before their match on Number One Court because she had a sore wrist. Of course, the singles is a player’s priority – the prize money on offer is considerably higher – and that will always be Emma’s main focus.

But once you agree to play doubles with someone – especially in a special situation like this – you have to commit to it. I recently played doubles with Andy at Roland-Garros and he waited all week to play me after getting knocked out in singles. I can’t blame Emma for pulling out, but there’s a lesson there about not committing unless you’re 100 percent behind it.

Raducanu withdrew from the opening match on Saturday just hours before the match due to a sore wrist, but played her singles match the next day

Dan Evans (right) – who will coach Murray at the Olympics this summer – believes Raducanu should have fully committed to the mixed doubles after agreeing to play with Murray

I feel incredibly privileged to be sharing the court with Andy hopefully in his final event of the Olympic doubles this summer. I went to the LTA suite at Wimbledon on Monday to get fitted for my kit and I’m looking forward to staying in the athletes’ village in Paris. For me personally, I’m going to have a week of chilling out and relaxing before I get back to work. I’m going home to Cheltenham and enjoying some time with my family as it’s been quite a stressful grass court season.

I need to get away and do some work on my knee recovery. We haven’t finalized our schedules yet, but Andy is training at the National Tennis Centre in London, so I’ll probably rent a place and go there in a week or so. We don’t have any plans to compete between now and the Olympics, so it’s just going to be training.

It’s disappointing that no Briton made it through to the second week of Wimbledon and now there’s some time to recover and shift focus. We’re not short of talented players – Jack Draper has been particularly impressive – but I think a few things could change to deliver better results.

The quality is there but I would like to see players play more outside the grass season. In my opinion, British players have too much free time. It’s great to get a few wildcard entries at Wimbledon but you also have to earn your stripes at the Challengers in unattractive venues where the prize money isn’t great. Too many players want to practice at home and relax. That’s fine if you’re well inside the top 100 but that’s clearly not the case. It’s a change of mindset.

Raducanu struggled physically in her fourth round singles match before being knocked out, and Evans feels medical advice is sometimes lacking in the tennis world

Murray was given an emotional farewell after losing the men’s doubles to his brother Jamie, and Evans (left) was in attendance, but it was a shame to see him miss the mixed doubles

There is also a high injury list for both men and women. Are we getting players back on the field quickly after an injury? No. Are they training well enough to avoid getting injured in the first place? The evidence doesn’t say that.

I think sometimes the medical advice is lacking. I was ruled out of Wimbledon completely – a prognosis of eight weeks – but I took matters into my own hands and was back in two weeks. There is a big difference there and my conclusion is that the British mentality is too cautious.

The National Tennis Centre is not a place to boost your ranking. It is about being on the road, playing and winning week in, week out. British players need to spend more time on the court, doing the hard work, and that direction has to come from the powers that be.

Wimbledon’s position for the European Championship is correct

I’ve heard quite a bit of debate about whether the English football matches at Wimbledon should be televised.

The organisers have taken a hardline stance not to show matches on the ground and I fully support that. You have to run your own event. You want people to fill their seats and if you are more interested in football then give your Wimbledon ticket to someone else.

I’m a football fan and I’m going to watch the semi-final between England and the Netherlands at home!

Some fans seemed more concerned about England’s score on Saturday night, but Wimbledon do not broadcast European Championship matches on their big screens

Evans believes Wimbledon organisers would be right not to broadcast the European Championships and will watch England’s semi-final at home on Wednesday

My dream meeting with Ronnie

One of the highlights of my time at Wimbledon this year was meeting Ronnie O’Sullivan.

He was a guest in the Royal Box and came to the players’ court after seeing Novak Djokovic on Centre Court. I went up to him to ask for a photo and we ended up chatting for about half an hour.

He knew quite a bit about tennis, but I was mostly nagging about snooker!