Roberto Carballes Baena stuns Brit Dan Evans in Grand Prix Hassan II to reach second tour-level final in Marrakech
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Updated 09/04/2023 at 13:57 GMT
Dan Evans’ promising Grand Prix Hassan II campaign came to an end when he was beaten in the semi-finals by Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena, who reached only his second career tour-level final in Marrakech on Saturday. Carballes Baena beat Evans 2-6 6-4 6-2 on centre court to book his place in the final where he will play Frenchman Alexandre Muller on Sunday.
Watch Highlights as Kecmanovic beats Cecchinato in Estoril Open semi-finals
Dan Evans’ hopes of a second career ATP title were dashed when he was knocked out of the Grand Prix Hassan II at the semi-final stage.
Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena advanced to his second tour-level final after he beat the Briton 2-6 6-4 6-2, and will face Alexandre Muller in the tournament decider on Sunday.
Evans - who was seeded second only behind Lorenzo Musetti, who was eliminated in Friday’s quarter-finals - looked to be on his way to a fourth ATP final when he won the first set.
Carballes Baena, 30, broke Evans in the second set - for the first time since the opening game - to make it 5-4 after the set had gone with serve until that point, and then levelled the score.
Back-to-back breaks for Carballes Baena helped him take a convincing 2-0 lead in the decider.
His relentless baseline game continued and he was able to break for a third time in the match to go 4-1 up, before saving a break point in the following service game and confirming the win.
"I don't know why, but all the time that I come here I think I play my best tennis," said Carballes Baen after the match. "I won my first Challenger also here [in Morocco].
“I feel very good and I will try to do a good match tomorrow."
The result was Carballes Baena’s only win against a top 35-ranked opponent this year, in what was his first tour-level semi-final since 2021.
Elsewhere, Casper Ruud was in action and qualified for the Estoril Open final.
He beat Quentin Halys 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) at Estadio Millennium in Portugal on Saturday afternoon to reach his first semi-final of the year.
The Norwegian will face Miomir Kecmanovic in the final, after he eliminated Italian player Marco Cecchinato in a straight-sets win.
Jessica Pegula beat Paul Badosa 6-3 7-6 in the Charleston Open to reach the semi-finals.
The tournament’s top seed will take on a tough test in Belinda Bencic, seeded fourth, and one of those will face Ons Jabeur in the final, who beat Daria Kasatkina 7-5 7-5.
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