TOO STEF A TEST, DAN

Gritty Evans crashes out but admits: ‘This is a week I will never forget’

THE FULL MONTE British No.1 Evans is at full stretch on his way to defeat against Tsitsipas yesterday

DAN EVANS admitted he will never forget his week after a stunning run at the Monte Carlo Masters came to an end.

The British No.1 had previously enjoyed little success on clay when he shocked 18-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic on the way to the semi-final.

Evans, 30, was facing a former Masters finalist for the fifth successive match yesterday having beaten Dusan Lajovic, Hubert Hurkacz, Djokovic and David Goffin to reach the last four at this level for the first time.

But Stefanos Tsitsipas proved a step too far as the Greek opponent outclassed Evans (below) to cruise to a comprehensive 6-2 6-1 victory.

It has nevertheless been a superb week for the Birmingham star, who will equal his career-high world ranking of 26 tomorrow having proved that he can be a threat to the best on clay.

And it is not over yet in doubles, with Evans and partner Neal Skupski reaching back-toback Masters finals with a victory over top-seeded

Colombians Juan

Sebastian Cabal and

Robert Farah.

Evans said: “It’s been a good week. It’s been pretty long and it’s been mentally pretty draining.

“Obviously you can’t say it’s bad to beat the world No.1, but it was a lot. This game was difficult. Obviously it doesn’t help the way Tsitsipas plays. He’s very aggressive. So there’s still work to be done.

“I can’t be negative about this. I just have to park that and go again really. “It’s been a great week. I won’t ever forget beating Novak, the world No.1.” Evans has a packed clay-court schedule, continuing this week in Barcelona, and he hopes his success on the red stuff can also help him on his favoured grass.

He added: “I prepared well. I gave myself the best chance. That’s what I’ll do for the rest of the season.

“I think on the clay, I could take some of that onto the grass.

“Maybe at the grand slams, on the hard courts, I’ve been putting a bit too much pressure (on myself ), looking to really want to win.

“Rather than, when I come out on the clay, I’m more focused on my game and trying to get that right, then the result comes. “There’s things to maybe take onto the grass and the hard from this week, definitely.”

Tsitsipas, who dominated his service games as Evans won just 11 return points, will meet Russian Andrey Rublev in today’s final.