Tsitsipas outclasses Evans to reach Monte Carlo Masters final
Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Daniel Evans 6-2, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters yesterday and will face Andrey Rublev or Casper Ruud for the title.
Fourth seed Tsitsipas needed just over an hour to dispatch Britain’s Evans, who knocked out world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the last 16.
Tsitsipas has yet to drop a set in Monte Carlo this week and is through to his third Masters 1000 final. He finished runner-up in Canada in 2018 and Madrid the following year.
Rublev and Ruud were due to meet in the second semi-final later yesterday. Rublev ended Rafael Nadal’s bid for a 12th Monte Carlo title in the quarter-finals, while the unseeded Ruud eliminated 2019 champion Fabio Fognini.
Evans had previously enjoyed little success on clay until this week, when he shocked Djokovic on the way to the last four.
However, beating Tsitsipas proved a step too far as 30-year-old Evans was outclassed in the straight sets defeat.
Evans caused problems for his previous opponents with his variety, but could not do the same against Tsitsipas, whose quality shone through.
“I am very happy, I found ways to play at my best,” said Tsitsipas, who reached last year’s French Open semi-finals.
“He has a very unique way of playing, I haven’t seen many play this way on clay.
“Slicing gave me opportunity to run around and hit the forehand, it gave me time to think and picture the way I wanted to construct the point and play it.”
World No.33 Evans had only ever won four claycourt matches at the highest level — two main-draw matches at Barcelona in 2017 and two Davis Cup matches in 2013 and 2017 — before his surprising run in Monte Carlo.
Not only did he beat Djokovic in the last 16, but he also earned wins over Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic, Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz and Belgium’s David Goffin — who have all won Masters titles in their careers — to reach the last four.