He was that way when recovering from reconstructive knee surgery last summer.

And he was that way on Saturday in rallying to defeat Michael Way in the men's final of the All Bermuda Tennis Club Open.

In the ladies' final, Kelly Holland, who knocked out top seed Debra Darrell in the semi-finals, stopped second seed Gill Butterfield 7-5, 6-2.

Making his first appearance on a Bermuda court since April, 1995, Evans defeated his former Davis Cup team-mate 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Tennis Stadium.

But he won't get much of a chance to savour the victory: He leaves tomorrow for his home in Washington, D.C., where he's a financial programme specialist for the US Treasury.

Despite his infrequent visits, Evans was seeded third heading into the tournament, then got bumped up to second when Gregg Frigerio had to withdraw because of a back injury.

Way looked every bit the top seed to start the final, opening a 4-0 lead before Evans had barely tied up his shoelaces. But in the process of changing courts, Evans said he had a chance to "settle down'' and do some soul-searching.

"The urgency was there,'' he said. "I was determined to crawl back in to the match so I just dug down. The level of my game came up and that was enough to get momentum going my way.'' Way managed to hold on to win the set but quickly fell behind 0-3 in the second before fighting back for the next three games. The third set was also tied 3-3 when Evans broke Way's serve, then held for a 5-3 advantage.

Eight months ago, just stepping on the court would have been a victory for Evans.

It was last June, during the Fox 45 Tournament in Baltimore that Evans, chasing a cross-court volley at the net, tripped over his planted left leg.

The result: A torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

After extensive rehabilitation, he returned to action in March and now says the knee is up to 80 percent strength of his right. Better yet, he doesn't have to wear a brace.

He has since been playing about five times a week, including six tournaments in the Washington area.

A little cautious in his return, Evans is also playing as aggressively as ever.

"I'm oblivious to the fact this thing ever happened,'' he said.

Evans isn't sure when he'll be back on the Island again but guarantees one thing: "I'll be here for Davis Cup -- if they select me.'' DONALD EVANS -- came from behind to defeat top seed Michael Way in yesterday's All Bermuda Tennis Club men's singles final.