Riled-up Evans shocks Djokovic in Monte Carlo
DAN EVANS produced the best victory of his career to stun Novak Djokovic in the third round of the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters.
The British No.1, whose first-round win was his first on clay at tour level for four years, had never beaten a top-six player but he put on a brilliant performance against a belowpar Djokovic to win 6-4, 7-5 to book his first quarter-finals spot at a Masters event.
The world No.1 had won his first 10 matches of the season while Evans went into the tournament on a four-match losing streak.
Djokovic was scathing about his performance, saying: “Congratulations to him. I mean, he deserved to win. He was a better player. Just more focused I guess and played with a better quality in the decisive moments.
“This has been probably one of the worst matches and performances from my side I can recall in the last years. I don’t want to take anything away from his win but, from my side, I just felt awful on the court overall. Just nothing worked. It’s one of those days.
“I can’t take anything positive away from this match. It’s not the first, neither the last, loss but definitely leaves a bitter feeling exiting the court this way.”
It was a first meeting between the two players, and Djokovic said: “He’s got a real all-around game. He’s really a nice player to watch, not a great player to play against. Lots of talent. He’s very unpredictable with his shots. He dismantled my game.”
Evans revealed Djokovic had given him some extra motivation.
“He kept me waiting in the changing rooms before the match so that was a little annoying, got me a little extra fired up,” said Evans, who will next face David Goffin after he upset fifth seed Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (9-7).
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, cruised into the last eight, needing just 55 minutes to brush aside Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-1.
It was a poor performance from the Bulgarian, who later revealed he was struggling with a tooth infection and was heading from the court to the dentist.
Nadal said: “I didn’t know that. He didn’t tell me. That shows how good a guy he is. Hopefully the situation gets better for him soon.”
Defending champion Fabio Fognini saw off Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 7-6 (7-1), while fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was a 6-3, 6-4, winner over Cristian Garin.