Dan Evans has suffered a straight-sets defeat to Alex de Minaur in the final of the Nottingham Challenger.

The former British number two had been hoping to win his first title since returning from a year-long drugs ban, but second seed De Minaur proved too strong in a 7-6 7-5 triumph.

Both players had joy on their opponent's serve during the opener but after trading breaks, it was De Minaur who prevailed by a 7-4 scoreline in the tie-break.

Evans rallied to get back on level terms during a competitive second, but his 19-year-old opponent struck for the fourth time in the contest to wrap up victory in just over two hours.

Birmingham-based Evans now makes the trip to London to play at Queen's after being handed a wildcard for the ATP 500 event.