DAN Evans declared himself satisfied with his performance in his first match since coming back from a doping ban, with a defeat of Ed Corrie ensuring he moved into the second and final round of qualifying at the Glasgow Trophy.

Evans was granted a wildcard for the tournament, which runs at Scotstoun until next weekend, following the end of his year-long suspension for testing positive for cocaine last April and there was much speculation as to the level the former world No 41 would display.

But the Englishman looked sharp for someone who has been absent from competition for such a prolonged spell and while he didn’t look in prime physical shape, dealt well with the demands of his comeback match.

The 28-year-old said that considering the circumstances, he was satisfied with his performance.

“It was a difficult match to play because Ed’s a bit awkward,” said Evans after his 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win set up a final qualifying match against Ireland’s Sam Barry today. “But it was good for me. I thought the match was good quality. I didn’t serve great but that will come. I felt pretty good. I didn’t make too many silly errors but the tough thing now is carrying on when I get tired, that’s going to be difficult.”

Evans’ presence at this ATP Challenger tournament has been controversial with some suggesting that as the former top-50 player is returning from a doping ban, he should not have received a wildcard.

But Evans has refused to be drawn into any debate on the issue, although he did admit that in an ideal world, he would not have had to rely on such a method of entry.

“Everyone has their opinion and it’s not really for me to get involved with,” he said. “I did ask for one but not because I wanted one, it was because I needed to play tennis. And I didn’t ask for a main draw wildcard, only one for qualifying. The draw isn’t full so I’m not taking someone else’s opportunity away, which would then probably be unfair.

“With wildcards, it’s a difficult situation and not one I can say too much about. I’ll just play and then if I get one, I get one but if I don’t, I can’t have any qualms because I’ve just come back from a failed drugs test.”

The Glasgow crowd, which numbered almost 400, supported Evans throughout the match though and the Englishman admitted it was nice to be welcomed in such a manner.

“It was great,” he said of his reception. “I like playing in Glasgow. I’ve won Futures [tournaments] here and I’ve had some good times here with Davis Cup too so it was good to be back. And it was nice that a few people came out to watch.”

Evans started his match well, taking the first set relatively comfortably with one break of serve before being made to fight much harder for the second set against the world No 427. It went to a tiebreak and despite Evans taking an early lead, Corrie hit back and even found himself with a set point. But three consecutive points from Evans secured his victory.

There was less success for the Scots in the draw, with the much-talked about junior player Jacob Fearnley going out to the top seed in qualifying, Daniel Brands of Germany. Brands is ranked 386 in the world but has been as high as 51 and has the scalp of Roger Federer to his name.

Fearnley went down 6-4, 6-1 but put up an impressive fight and while the 16-year-old was disappointed, recognised how valuable an experience playing someone of Brands' level was.

“The first set was good. I was serving quite well but then in the second set, he was a bit stronger than me and so ran away with it,” the Edinburgh teenager said.

“It was a really good experience though. He’s by far the best player I’ve ever played and so now, I know what I need to improve. It’s very different being on court with someone like that compared to just watching them. You don’t realise how big their serve is, so when you’re up against it it’s pretty daunting. But I really enjoyed it.”

Renfrewshire’s Connor Thomson lost 6-3, 6-4 to Adrien Bossel of Switzerland, University of Stirling’s Kieran McCarty went out 6-1, 6-3 to Germany’s Robin Kern and Scott Duncan, also from University of Stirling, went out 6-1, 6-4 to Harri Heliovaara of Finland.