Dan Evans has told fellow tennis players to stop making excuses when losing matches to lower-ranked opponents. The British No. 6 will be back in action in Eastbourne next week after earning a big win at Queen's, then getting a wildcard into Wimbledon.

Earlier this week, Evans hit out at the top guys who complained about the relentless schedule and suggested they could take time off. And the 35-year-old has a new bone to pick, telling other athletes: "Just f****** shake the guy's hand and say, 'Well done'."

The world No. 199 sealed a statement victory over Frances Tiafoe in Queen's earlier this week before losing in the second round. He's now received wildcards into Eastbourne and Wimbledon.

And ahead of his campaign on the Sussex coast, where he faces Miomir Kecmanovic in round one, Evans has claimed that athletes are making too many excuses for their losses and poor performances.

The former world No. 21 said: "I'm fed up with sports people when they lose, there's an issue. Just f****** shake the guy's hand and say, 'Well done'.

"This day and age, we never, somebody's never better than us. It's always, you know, if we're tired or, you know, just be a sportsman, be a sportswoman, shake their hand, fair play, and let's go. Don't need to know what's happened."

Asked whether he'd ever cited outside issues for some of his defeats, Evans added: "I wouldn't be allowed to use that. If you're sick, you're sick, that's part of being of a tennis player.

"I had the thing with the other day about tiredness of the schedule. You can take time off, guys. It's not an excuse. You've lost. That's it. You know, that's how we play. Pull your calf in the first match you lose, is it? It's a sport, isn't it?"

Evans' comments come days after he told players to "be careful" when complaining about the tennis calendar. The season lasts 11 months of the year, with some top tournaments now being expanded to last two weeks instead of one.

However, the Brit explained that lower-ranked players needed the smaller events to survive and earn money and warned big stars against calling for a shorter schedule.

"Anybody outside the top 15 don't have those views, because the bottom line is anybody outside the top 15 need to play every week. People need working opportunities," he said.

"If you are at 60 in the world with more than two people on your staff each week, you need to make money.

"So you can't just not have tournaments every week. They need tournaments. That's it. Can't just listen to the top guys on scheduling. Just because they are better than us at tennis doesn't mean their voice is louder to talk."