Evans and Federer will meet in the third round of the US Open this evening and, excluding their respective achievements in the game, there are certain similarities between the two players.
Both tennis stars adopt a distinctive one-handed backhand, good hands at the net and great use of the sliced backhand.
Federer even went as far as to describe facing Evans after their meeting at the Australian Open earlier this year like playing against a “mirror” version of himself.
And the Briton clearly left a lasting effect on the 20-time Grand Slam champion as he went on to invite Evans out to Switzerland for a practice session ahead of the clay-court season.
The pair have since built up a good relationship on the tour with Evans crediting Federer for opening his eyes.
But Evans will also know Federer will not be giving his opponent any favours when they meet on the Arthur Ashe Stadium later today.
However, Petchey points to how Federer’s conqueror at the US Open last year – John Millman – also was a practice partner leading up to their fourth round clash.
And Petchey believes that could give Evans the belief he needs to cause an upset in the final Grand Slam of the year.
“This is the third time Dan’s going to take him on,” he said on Amazon Prime.
“Having been a practice partner, John Millman was in the same place last year.
“He’d gone to Switzerland to practice with him, perhaps lost a little bit of that aura and beat him in New York.
“Could it happen to Dan? Possibly.”
The similarities between Federer and Evans haven’t stopped this tournament.
Both players have needed four sets to reach the third round with Federer defeating Sumit Nagal and Damir Dzumhur while Evans has beaten Adrian Mannarino and No 25 seed Lucas Pouille.
There is a pattern to their matches as well, with both players suffering blips at certain points of the contest.
Federer has so far been a slow starter, losing both first sets, while Evans has had trouble seeing out the match in the third.